Market Trends of Solid Control Equipment Industry
Offshore Sector to Witness Significant Growth
- Solid control equipment is used in the oil & gas upstream sector to separate the solid particles of the drilling fluid. The activity helps a drilling operator reuse the drilling fluid without disposing of it in the environment.
- Solid control equipment consists of several processes. The most widely used are shale shaker, desander, desilter, and vacuum degassers. A centrifuge is another process in the solid control equipment primarily used to segregate solid particles of around 5 microns.
- As of December 2022, there are nearly 623 active offshore drilling rigs worldwide. With active participation from countries like Brazil concentrating more on offshore activities due to its high presence of hydrocarbon reserves in offshore locations, the sector is likely to grow significantly during the forecast period.
- In August 2022, The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Nigeria's state-owned oil firm, renewed its oil production sharing agreements with international oil companies Shell, Equinox, Chevron, ExxonMobil, China's Sinopec, and Nigerian firm South Atlantic Petroleum for five deep-water blocks. The company aims to produce up to 10 billion barrels of oil over the next 20 years. NNPC jointly and separately owns the OML 128, 130, 132, 133, and 138 blocks.
- In March 2022, Petronas signed four new Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for five offshore blocks - located off the coast of Sabah and Sarawak. Additionally, in February 2021, Petronas signed PSCs for five offshore exploration blocks - SB412, 2W, and X, located off the coast of Sabah, and SK439/SK440 off the coast of Sarawak.
- Hence, owing to the above factors, the offshore segment is expected to aid the growth of the solid control equipment market during the forecast period.
North America to Dominate the Market
- North America is a leading region with a significant presence in the oil & gas industry. The region is the second-largest contributor of crude oil after the Middle East. North America contributed to around 26.6% of global crude production during 2021.
- With the increasing number of oil & gas projects in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the region is likely to witness robust growth in the coming years. The United States is one of the largest producers of crude oil and natural gas, accounting for around 18.5% and 23.1% of global production, respectively, in 2021.
- The United States has one of the largest, technically-recoverable shale gas reserves and the second-largest tight oil reserves in the world. The technological developments in hydraulic fracturing have supported the oil & gas drilling activities in the onshore region, resulting in high demand for solid control equipment.
- Moreover, as of January 2023, North America has nearly 771 active drilling rigs using solid control equipment on both onshore and offshore platforms. With upcoming projects like Constellation in the United States Gulf of Mexico, the country is expected to have further uses of solid control equipment during the upcoming years.
- Canada, on the other hand, is the second-largest producer of oil and gas in the region. The oil and gas industry is important to the country's economy. Oil sands remain its primary source of hydrocarbon production, comprising over 90% of the country's total oil reserves.
- Therefore, based on the above factors, the North American region is expected to dominate the solid control equipment market.