Offshore Drilling Fluid Market Expected to Reach $4.8 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Offshore Drilling Fluid Market," The offshore drilling fluid market was valued at $3.2 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $4.8 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2022 to 2031.

Offshore drilling fluids are also known as muds that are used for lubrication, cooling, removing cuttings, and conducting other extraction and drilling activities. The rise in desire to increase production rates, efficiency, and reduce gas related capital expenditure has had a significant impact on the expansion of the offshore fluid industry. As a result, increase in demand for crude oil and natural gas in energy extensive industries such as manufacturing, power generation, and transportation has prompted exploration and production companies to increase investments in offshore drilling activities. This is also a key determinant favoring the offshore drilling fluids market growth.

The fast expansion of the oil and gas sectors in emerging nations also aids the offshore drilling fluid market growth. The increased government investments for upgrading oil and gas sector. This also acts as a key driving factor for the industry growth. In addition the increased effort required to meet growing energy needs also propels the market growth for offshore drilling fluid. However, high cost of drilling and concerns regarding the toxic waste disposal from drilling fluids is a major concern and acts as market restraint. Meanwhile, synthetic-based fluids offer opportunity for growing concerns over toxic waste as they are nontoxic and advancing these can be an alternate and revolutionary step towards the oil & gas extraction activities. The offshore drilling market size is studied on the basis of type, application, end user industry, and region.

Based on type it is categorized into oil-based fluids (OBF), water-based fluids (WBF), synthetic-based fluids (SBF), and others. OBF garnered the highest market share for 2021 ad is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the studied years. This is owed to the to its improved lubricity. Due to the increasing demand for lesser corrosion of drilling tools, and higher thermal stability it will grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period. Oil-based drilling fluid is used in drilling engineering and is the composition of oil and water in continuous and dispersed phases, respectively. Gaseous drilling fluid is studied in the others segment. A wide range of gases can be used for drilling.

Depending on application, the market bifurcation is done into oil and gas extraction, maintain wellbore stability, mineral extraction, and others. Oil & gas extraction dominated the market share for 2021. The same is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period owing to increased activities in offshore rigs due to increased investment to boost oil and gas industry growth. Use of mud rotary is mostly preferred for a high yield. It offers advantages such as Cooling and lubricating the bit and drill string, Stabilizing the borehole, Cleaning the borehole, providing gel strength to suspend and remove cuttings, and controlling fluid loss to the formation. This aids in propelling offshore drilling fluid market growth.

On the basis of end user industry, the market segmentation is done into oil and gas, energy industry, and others. Oil and gas industry had the highest revenue share in 2021 and will continues to grow fastest during the forecast period. This is attributed to rising investments to boost oil and gas industry economy.

Region-wise, offshore drilling fluid market analysis in done for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA (Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa). North America dominated the market share followed by LAMEA. This is expected to continue so during the forecast period as well owing to shale boom and increasing offshore drilling activities within this region. Moreover, massive oil reserves in Canada play a major role in driving the demand in the region.

The offshore drilling fluid market has become highly competitive due to the presence of multinationals and more than 100 companies working in the same industry. The big players are involved in product innovation involving R&D investment to develop multi-functional fluid additives, which offer a competitive edge over other players. The key players operating in offshore drilling fluid industry are Halliburton Company, Aker Hughes Inc., General Electric, Akzo Nobel N.V., China Oilfield Services Limited, National Energy Services Reunited Corp., National Oilwell Varco, Inc., Shell Plc., Gumpro Drilling Fluids Pvt. Ltd, and Weatherford International Ltd.

Key findings of the study:

• North America is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of approximately 4.7%, in terms of during the offshore drilling fluid market forecast period
• The oil and gas end user industry dominated the offshore drilling fluid market share by over 81.0% in 2021
• By type, oil-based fluid dominated the offshore drilling fluid market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% during the offshore drilling fluid market forecast period
• By application, the oil and gas extraction segment dominated the offshore drilling fluid market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period