Enhanced Oil Recovery Market Overview
The major trend being observed in the global enhanced oil recovery market is increased investments by companies to boost the production of oil and gas. Owing to the large-scale consumption of oil and gas, many market players are focusing on expanding their production capacity, mainly through the upgradation of existing wells, exploration of new wells, and expansion in new geographies.
Crude oil can be obtained from reservoirs through three methods: primary recovery, secondary recovery, and tertiary (enhanced) recovery. In primary recovery, the natural pressure of the reservoir drives the oil into the wellbore. The method can also be carried out with the help of an artificial lift to bring the oil to the surface. However, most of the oil that can be recovered from this method has already been recovered by producers. Hence, oil-producing companies are now using tertiary or enhanced oil recovery techniques of oil extraction.
On the basis of technology, the enhanced oil recovery market is categorized into gas enhanced oil recovery, thermal enhanced oil recovery, and chemical enhanced oil recovery. Of these, the most widely used technique for extracting heavy viscous crude oil from reservoirs is thermal enhanced oil recovery, in which oil recovery is carried out by injecting thermal energy into the reservoir to decrease the viscosity and increase the temperature of the crude oil.
Since most of the oil reserves are heavy-oil reserves, thermal enhanced oil recovery is the widely employed technique around the world. In-situ and steam injection methods are primarily employed for thermal injection. Steam flooding, steam-assisted gravity drainage, and cyclic steam stimulation are some common steam injection methods. Steam flooding is used for light-oil reservoirs having depth less than 3,000 feet, whereas in-situ method is generally used for heavy-oil sandstone reservoirs.
Based on region, the enhanced oil recovery market is categorized into Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Among all these regions, North America held the largest share in the market during the historical period. This can be majorly attributed to the presence of several major oilfield service companies, such as Baker Hughes, a GE company and Halliburton Energy Services Inc., in the region. Moreover, the commercial exploration of shale gas in the U.S. is expected to support the growth of the North American enhanced oil recovery market during the forecast period.
Enhanced Oil Recovery Market Dynamics
Driver
The major factor driving the growth of the enhanced oil recovery market is the growing demand for oil and gas from across the world. Due to the rising demand for energy, conventional oil and gas resources are increasingly being used up and, therefore, depleting at a fast pace. Thus, in order to meet the ever-increasing energy demand, major oil companies are shifting their focus toward unconventional oil and gas reserves for the exploration of shale oil, shale gas, tight oil, tight gas, and coal bed methane (CBM), which involves the utilization of services pertaining to enhanced oil recovery.
Restraints
Major restraints identified in the enhanced oil recovery market are the fluctuations in oil prices and the requirement for high capital for the exploration of oil wells. Over the past few years, the prices of oil have declined sharply, thereby eroding the profitability of oil companies. Moreover, political uncertainty in major oil-producing countries, such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, is adding to the woes of oil and gas companies, which are now wary of inducing fresh capital to expand their production capacity. These factors are leading to a delay in production expansion plans, which, in turn, is hindering the growth of the enhanced oil recovery industry.
Opportunity
The enhanced oil recovery market is expected to witness significant growth in emerging oil-producing regions, particularly Africa and the Pacific Ocean. These regions have vast unexplored reserves of oil and gas, which are sufficient to meet the growing energy demand. The untapped oil reserves in these regions, therefore, offer lucrative opportunities to the players operating in the market.
Enhanced Oil Recovery Market Competitive Landscape
The market is characterized by the presence of oil and gas companies having operations in more than one country. Some of the major companies operating in the global enhanced oil recovery market are Chevron Phillips Chemical Corporation, Secure Energy Services Inc., Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Fmc Technologies Inc., Xytel Corporation, Schlumberger Limited, Praxair Technology Inc., BASF SE, NALCO Company, and Halliburton Energy Services Inc.
The study provides the historical as well the forecast market size data for various countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Russia, Norway, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., South Africa, Nigeria, Iran, and Iraq.
