The North America Virtual Pipeline Equipment Market is projected to reach US$ 663.73 million by 2028 from US$ 431.97 million in 2022; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2022 to 2028.

Growing energy demand and rising gas exploration activities in North America are expected to boost the virtual pipeline equipment market growth. In addition, the growing shift from conventional pipeline infrastructure to virtual pipeline equipment is anticipated to fuel the virtual pipeline equipment market growth over the forecast period. Virtual pipelines offer flexibility in transporting natural gas and remove the need for large physical pipeline installations. Thus, virtual pipeline equipment are gaining more traction in the oil & gas industry.

R&D activities are driven by their goal of promoting the use of low-emission natural gas products. Countries such as Mexico witnessed an increase by 400 MMcf/day in natural gas production in November 2022 as compared to November 2021. Massive natural gas production in North American countries would continue to assist in the demand for virtual pipeline equipment.
Virtual pipeline vendors focus on technology innovations, new product launches, investment on natural gas, product approvals, and geographic expansion to capture larger consumer and market base volume. For instance:

  • In November 2022, Pemex (a Mexican state oil company) and New Fortress Energy (NFE) (a US-based LNG company) signed a service contract to upscale pipeline output while lowering dependency on imports. NFE and Pemex aim to develop a liquefaction project at the Lakach gas field (Mexico).
  • In December 2021, TC Energy Corp and Comisi?n Federal de Electricidad (CFE) inked an agreement to make advancements in arbitration proceedings, complete stalled projects, and consolidate underlying natural gas transport contracts within a single agreement with a levelized toll. Yucat?n Peninsula has been witnessing chronic gas shortages owing to stagnant domestic production. Therefore, CFE and TC Energy Corp. have decided to develop a new offshore natural gas pipeline to provide Yucat?n Peninsula with natural gas.



The virtual pipeline equipment market is mainly dominated by players such as ANGI Energy Systems, Inc.; Quantum Fuel Systems LLC.; Hexagon Agility; BROADWIND INC; Galileo Technologies S.A.; Chesapeake Utilities Corp; STABILIS SOLUTIONS, INC; Algas-SDI; Cobey Inc; and CRYOPEAK. Further, these players expand their business through new product launches, market initiatives, investment in technological upgrades, mergers & acquisitions, and other joint activities.

For instance, in December 2021, Certarus Ltd. secured industry-leading virtual pipeline trailers for hydrogen from Quantum Fuel Equipment, a fully integrated alternative energy firm. Quantum’s VPLite-H45/40’ trailers, with a gas mass of 803 kg at 3,600 pressures, were delivered to Certarus (248 bar). The trailers are permitted for use in both Canada and the US.


COVID-19 Impact on Virtual pipeline equipment Market

Construction was underway at six different LNG terminals on the US Gulf Coast when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. All these expansions were delayed in response to the pandemic, which hampered the US natural gas and LNG export growth. Further, buyers denied picking 25 US cargoes in June 2020 due to the sharp decline in natural gas prices in Asia and Europe, making it uneconomical to ship cargoes from the US to their destination. CNG and LNG projects were already under pressure from the US trade war with China that broke out in June 2018, the COVID-19 crisis further added to the plight, thereby declining the production in the 1st half of 2020. The reduction in gas production created negative impact on the virtual pipeline equipment market, as new product sale declined significantly.

Virtual pipeline equipment market players are following both organic and inorganic growth strategies to sustain the competitive edge. Numerous initiatives, such as investment in research and development and the formation of virtual reality (VR) simulator training centers, are expected to impact the virtual pipeline equipment market growth positively.

The overall virtual pipeline equipment market analysis has been derived using both primary and secondary sources. To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the virtual pipeline equipment market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast of the virtual pipeline equipment market size with respect to all market segments. Also, industry participants and commentators have conducted multiple primary interviews to validate the data and gain more analytical insights. The participants typically involved in the virtual pipeline equipment market study include VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, and external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the virtual pipeline equipment market.