This bodes well for speculation about UK's taxation changes aimed at renewing the North Sea oil industry, expected to be announced any day.

RBS surveyed 101 oil and gas companies with operations in the UK, with 92% saying they were planning to grow their business during 2015 - up from 69% the previous year.

Mergers and acquisitions are high on the agenda, with around 25% of firms thinking of going down that path, up from just 10% last year.

But the declining potential for discoveries in the United Kingdom mean 91% of firms will look outside the UK for business opportunities.

"North Sea firms are seen as world-leading, so it is therefore not surprising they are looking at international expansion opportunities where they can enjoy continued growth backed by the strong expertise they have developed here in the UK," RBS area director of commercial banking Stuart White said.

"Our client base mirrors these trends and we have seen a significant increase in our support to the industry in recent years to facilitate international expansion and this is something we expect to continue."

A total of 73 of the 101 firms questioned expected to increase their workforce, with only nine companies expecting staff numbers to fall and 19 not anticipating any change in headcount.

Four companies expected to create between 500 and 1000 jobs, and one firm more than 1000 roles.

Taking into account the job losses RBS expects, a net total of just under 8000 jobs could be created.

While this contrasts with concerns of "gloomy employment prospects in the industry", the total is down by a fifth from almost 10,000 jobs that have been created in the last two years.

Companies expect that the price of Brent Crude will start 2016 at around $US55 per barrel, but the RBS research showed that the price of oil wasn't the most serious challenge for the companies.

Rather, 35% were concerned with the cost of production, a lack of skilled workers and the exchange rate were both cited by 30%, while 29% of firms are concerned about the ageing workforce.

Commodity price woes were the fifth pressing issue, with 28% of companies mentioning it.

A fifth of firms also said the taxation regime was one of their worries, particularly around the North Sea, which is in serious decline, although the sector is keen to overcome the issues if the policy settings are correct.

The RBS report came ahead of speculation that the UK government may announce tax cuts for the North Sea oil and gas industry in its budget this week.