The market for pipeline pigging services is expected to register a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period of 2020–2025. The global demand for oil is expected to witness an annual growth rate of 1.2 million barrels per day (mbd) until 2023. Similarly, the global demand for natural gas is expected to increase by 1.6% a year for the period of 2018-2023, with consumption reaching almost 4,000 billion cubic meter (bcm) by 2022. Despite significant advancements in the entire oil and gas industry, aging pipeline systems remain a major cause of concern and require continuous maintenance activities to ensure pipeline efficiency, which in turn, is likely to drive the market. Also, a growing pipeline network is expected to drive the market as pipelines are an integral part of oil and gas infrastructure and require a high level of maintenance and conditioning to ensure proper on-site operations. On the other hand, ambiguity caused during data interpretation of the pipeline inspection process and, in some cases, the extra cost associated with the operation of the second pig is expected to act as a restraint for the pipeline pigging services market.

  • Intelligent pigging is expected to dominate the market as intelligent pigging is a smart solution getting used by the oil and gas industry as part of its pipeline inspection and maintenance program.
  • The upcoming pipeline projects which were under construction globally are expected to create tremendous market opportunities in years to come.
  • North America is expected to dominate the market with the majority of the demand coming from countries, such as the United States and Canada.



Key Market Trends

Intelligent Pigging Segment to Dominate the Market

  • Intelligent pigging is used for inspecting the pipelines. It is widely used to gather important data, such as the presence and location of corrosion or other irregularities on the inner walls of the pipe.
  • Since 2014, the government regulations dictate the pipeline operators must carry intelligent pigging once in 2.5 years, in turn, almost doubling the frequency of intelligent pigging in India, per km of pipeline, which helps in driving the market during the forecast period.
  • There are mainly two types of intelligent pigging operations, magnetic flux leakage (MFL) pigging and ultrasonic pigging. Magnetic flux leakage pigs can be used in both liquid and gas pipelines and do not require any liquid coolant as in ultrasonic pigging. Magnetic flux leakage pigs can detect and measure metal loss or corrosion and cracks and weld defects even in thin-walled pipelines, while ultrasonic pigs fail to identify and measure thin-walled pipelines accurately.
  • The intelligent pigging can carry out many measurements, including geometry measurement, metal-loss detection, leak detection, pipeline profiling and mapping, temperature and pressure recording, bend measurement and curvature monitoring, product sampling, photographic inspection, wax deposit measurement, and crack detection.
  • Therefore, due to technological advancements, the demand for intelligent pigging is expected to witness a significant growth, which, in turn, drives the demand for the pipeline pigging services market.



North America to Dominate the Market

  • As the demand for energy produced in North America continues to grow, the exploration and production would continue to move further towards harsh environments. In particular, the recent discovery of certain new extraction techniques has opened multiple oil and gas shale regions in extremely remote areas.
  • In the United States, approximately 70% of crude oil and petroleum products are shipped through pipelines. In 2018, the United States crude oil production was 10.9 mb/d, an increase by 1.6 mb/d from 2017. Furthermore, it is expected to reach 12.1 mb/d in 2019 and 12.9 mb/d in 2020. Most of the increased production is expected to be generated from Texas and New Mexico.
  • More than 60% of electricity generating capacity installed in 2018 was fuelled by natural gas. Almost 90% (19.3 GW) of the natural gas-fired capacity in the United States added in 2018 were combined-cycle generators, the most efficient natural gas-fired generating technology. Pennsylvania accounted for almost 25% (4.4 GW) of all 2018 domestic natural gas additions, and three other states, namely Maryland, Virginia, and Florida, accounted for about 30%.
  • Unlocking the hydrocarbon resources in low permeability shale formations, the United States becomes one of the leading producers of oil and gas across the world and is expected to remain the same during the forecast period.
  • In Canada, approximately 97% of natural gas and petroleum products are shipped through pipelines.
  • Therefore, with increasing pipeline network, the demand for pipeline pigging services market in the region is expected to grow substantially during the forecast period.



Competitive Landscape

The pipeline pigging services market is fragmented. The key players include Rosen Group, T.D. Williamson Inc., Baker Hughes Company, Romstar Sdn Bhd, and Dacon Inspection Services Co. Ltd.

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