The global downhole drilling tools market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 7% over the period of 2020-2025.Factor such as increase in rig counts during the forecast period due to new discoveries in several regions is expected to drive the downhole drilling tools market. High requirement for tubulars along with increased directional drilling activities in United States, North Sea and Russia presents more opportunities for downhole drilling tools market. However, unfavorable environmental effect of E&P activities such as release of not only crude oil into the environment, but also heavy metals can have serious environmental implications. These environmental effects coupled with stringent government regulations are likely to restrain the market growth during the forecast period.

  • Offshore Oil and Gas has witnessed a larger number of Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) in the past few years for development of discoveries as compared to onshore, leading to growth in market.
  • The development of new-generation automated drilling tools and technological advancements breeding from automation in drilling activities are expected to present a significant amount of opportunities for the downhole drilling companies.
  • North America, and specifically the United States has dominated the market which accounts for the majority of the downhole drilling tools due to a large number of wells being drilled each year in its shale and tight reserves.



Key Market Trends

Offshore Oil and Gas to Dominate the Market

  • The decline in offshore rig count slowed down in 2018. The offshore activity is expected to gain momentum over the next two to three years.
  • Moreover, more than 90 offshore projects are in the queue to receive a green signal. These factors are expected to drive the demand for downhole drilling tools in the offshore sector, particularly for drilling bits and tubulars that are used during the exploration and production phase.
  • The cost of operation in the offshore locations declined significantly over the past few years. This factor is encouraging the industry to step up its expenditure gradually in the future.
  • Additionally, the worldwide offshore rig count for December 2019 was 282, up by 11 rigs from November 2019, and up by 22 rigs from the 260 counted in December 2018. The majority of the growth in active rig count came from Asia-Pacific and Europe. As a result, a significant increase in the demand in the oil and gas downhole drilling tools market is expected in Asia-Pacific and Europe during the forecast period.
  • The recent series of offshore discoveries by ExxonMobil has made Guyana a new market for oil and gas drilling activities. Two new discoveries in 2019 have increased the total number of discoveries on the Stabroek Block to 12, in turn, increasing the demand for drilling tools.
  • Therefore, as long as the crude oil price is well above USD 60 per barrel, majority of the new discoveries are expected to witness development in the coming years and drive the demand in the oil and gas downhole drilling tools market.



North America to Dominate the Market

  • North America has dominated the downhole drilling tools market in 2019 and is expected to continue its dominance in the coming years as well. Low breakeven prices and high crude oil prices coupled with technological development in hydraulic fracturing has been in support for the demand for downhole drilling tools.
  • Onshore drilling dominates the market in the United States while offshore market has not witnessed much activity in the past few years. The offshore sector in the country is expected to pick up as the government has opened around 98% its coastal water for drilling in January 2018, which was earlier not allowed.
  • In December 2018, the United States shale and tight plays produced 65 bcf/d of natural gas (70% of total the United States dry gas production) and about 7 mb/d of crude oil (60% of total the United States oil production). While in December 2008, shale gas, and tight oil accounted for 16% of total gas production and about 12% of total crude oil production in the United States.
  • Permian basin is currently the most important basin and the market for downhole drilling tools in the country. In 2018, in the Permian Basin, 6,759 wells were drilled highest among all the shale basin, creating a huge demand for downhole drilling tools in the United States.
  • Hence, increasing oilfield exploration with the presence of several companies offering oilfield services are some of the major factors that augment the market growth in North America, especially in the United States.



Competitive Landscape

The downhole drilling tools market is fragmented. Some of the key players in this market include National-Oilwell Varco Inc., Halliburton Company, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes A GE Co., Rival Downhole Tools, Hunting PLC and United Drilling Tools Ltd amongst others.

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