A £10m fund has been launched to encourage innovation in the oil and gas industry.

Companies focussing on improving the integrity and reliability of offshore installations can apply for the Scottish Government initiative.

The Innovation Fund aims to preserve the industry's pipelines and platforms to ensure remaining North Sea reserves are recovered safely.

The scheme will be operated by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Energy minister Fergus Ewing announced on Wednesday that the fund is now open to the first round of applications.

He said: “We know that Scotland’s oil and gas sector leads the world. With more than half of the value of the North Sea's oil and gas reserves yet to be extracted, up to 24bn recoverable barrels with a potential wholesale value of £1.5trillion, oil and gas will remain an enormous economic resource for decades to come.

“We know that there is a great future in oil and gas, and the sector is no stranger to innovation, with the great strides the industry has taken helping to secure our place at the lead of the global industry.

“The awards made under this fund will help drive that innovation and preserve the vital infrastructure of the industry – the cables, pipes and platforms – to ensure they continue to operate safely and efficiently for the recovery of oil and gas reserves for decades to come.

David Rennie of Scottish Enterprise said: "Scotland's hugely successful oil & gas sector has a crucial role to play in our economic success and increasing and accelerating innovation in the industry, as highlighted in the industry led oil and gas strategy document published earlier this year, will be key to this.

“We know that many of our assets in the North Sea are already – or are close to – operating beyond their original design life. To ensure we capitalise effectively on the future potential we know exists in Scotland’s oil fields it’s vitally important that our assets are secure for the future. This call will help to foster innovation and provide funding for ideas to help bring them to market more quickly.”