A shortage of skilled engineers threatens to limit oil supply growth in the coming three to five years as companies struggle to develop complex new fields, the head of the world's biggest oil services company has warned.

Andrew Gould, chairman and chief executive of Schlumberger, said drilling in very deep waters would double during the next three to five years, but that projects risked being delayed because the ageing industry was unable to recruit, train and offer engineers experience quickly enough to fill the gap left by years of underinvestment when oil prices were low.