Wireline Services Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Well Type (Open Hole and Cased Hole), By Service (Electric Line and Slick Line), By Location (Onshore and Offshore), By Application (Well Completion, Well Intervention, and Well Logging), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2032

The global wireline services market size was valued at USD 11.07 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 19.75 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.87% during the forecast period of 2020-2032. The Wireline Service market in the U.S. is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated value of USD 6.62 billion by 2032, driven by the increasing demand for oil & gas products and rising exploration from shale gas reserves to meet energy needs.

The increasing demand for oil and gas products around the globe, along with the rising discoveries of new bulk potential reservoirs, is expected to boost the demand for wireline services and aid in expanding the market size. Oil well operators are thoroughly investing in the production & exploration activities to cater to the growing energy demand.

Wireline services are multiline cables or a high tensile single strandline, and therefore routine maintenance is to be carried out in wellbore with wireline tools. It performs various functions such as pipe recovery, intervention, reservoir evaluation, and others. It also delivers flawless service execution. It has advantages such as high data speed, advanced communication technology, and evaluating the properties of rock in reservoirs. The overall costs can be substantially reduced by dropping the maintenance and non-operational rig downtime, thereby exponentially boosting the wireline services market revenue. Increasing investments for augmenting E&P activities at different locations, along with the adaptability for advanced techniques, is set to propel the industry outlook further and escalate the need for wireline services.

COVID-19 to Decline Demand Backed by Halt in Upcoming Exploration Projects

The outbreak of the COVID-19 has held the most significant impact on the downstream oil market by the crash in crude oil prices, which has eventually harmed the production and exploration activities as well. The key players in the oil & gas industry are struggling with declining demand, business stability, ensuring employee safety, oil price war, and consistently focusing on building a flexible business model which helps to lead long-term resilience over the post covid scenario. The spread of coronavirus has forced many oil & gas companies to slow down their operations, which has hampered production in the upstream and downstream sector. Amid the increasing transmission, many industries across the globe, such as automotive, aviation, power, manufacturing, and transportation, are experiencing a downfall in their business growth.

The spread of the virus poses a significant threat to the global wireline services market owing to the lockdown in transportation, industrial and commercial operation, halt in upcoming exploration projects, and considerable hindrances in the supply chain of oil & gas. The oil & gas companies are looking forward to achieving disruptive opportunities and formulating pioneering business models to achieve growth. Key companies across the globe have also delayed major oil & gas projects. Furthermore, the pandemic has impacted crude oil prices, well operation, and production activities, dramatically.

LATEST TRENDS

Growing Investment in Subsea Oil & Gas Assets is a Current Trend

The offshore production is escalating the demand for oilfield services. Also, the increasing investment in subsea oil & gas assets would result in the wireline services market growth during the forecast period. Oil field operators are investing considerably in offshore assets to increase their well productivity, reservoir performance, and overall life cycle of the well. Deepwater activities are projected to grow in the coming year. For instance,  Saipem had drilled more than 1,750 offshore wells and developed offshore oil fields, including the Kaombo Ultra-Deep Offshore Project in Angola, the Kashagan offshore oilfield in Kazakhstan, and the Eldfisk Oil and Gas Field in the North Sea, Norway. This is further resulting in the high demand for oilfield services, which includes wireline services, drilling, completion, and workover services across the globe.

 Increasing Number of Discoveries in the Oil & Gas Industry is a Prominent Trend

Discoveries in oilfield reserves and growing investment in the exploration of new projects, are augmenting the application of wireline services in the oil and gas industry. It has witnessed an increase in discoveries of about 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent, compared to 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. For instance, ExxonMobil had founded a string of 18 discoveries from Guyana having produced more than 8 billion barrels. The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) has declared as of 2018, they have 152 active oil wells and are projected to increase for the newly discovered field. Hence, these projects will continue to sustain the country’s investment in the coming years which is trending the demand for the wireline services market during the forecast period.

DRIVING FACTORS

Rising Awareness on Extending Life of Mature Oil Fields will Boost Growth

Growing initiatives for integrating efficient production techniques to augment the production and existence of mature and old wells in various regions is set to boost the market growth. As per the survey conducted by Halliburton, mature fields accounted for about 70% of the total oil & gas production. Therefore, these companies are primarily focused on increasing recovery and extending the life of mature fields by using advanced technologies such as EOR technologies. Thermal EOR is used to increase the production of heavy oil, which helps to boost the market growth.

 Increasing Focus towards Operational Performance to Fuel Growth

Increasing focus on the operational performance of oilfield equipment and a decline in capital expenses had enabled the adoption of smart digitized devices, services, and solutions. Oilfield service providers are using advanced technology in wireline cabling technology for introducing down or lifting any type of instrument or equipment in and out of the wellbore.  The primary functions catered by wireline services include intervention, pipe recovery, well completion, and evaluation of reservoirs which are heavily adopted to increase the operational performance of oil wells, helpng to drive the market growth during the forecast period.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Volatility in Oil Prices and Rising Trend of Adopting Renewable Energy to Restrain Growth

The oil price is primarily subjected to demand and supply of oil, which fluctuates significantly. The low price of oil is likely to delay the upcoming projects and affect investments. The growing trend of integrating alternative energy sources, which includes solar, wind, and hydro, would reduce the dependency on fuels of oil & gas, which is likely to affect the services market in the oil & gas industry. Hence, volatility in oil prices, along with the growing trend for adopting renewable energy, will limit the market growth in the projected time frame.

SEGMENTATION

By Well Type Analysis

Benefits Provided by Cased Hole Type is Anticipated to Propel Growth of Well Type Segment

Based on the well type, this market is segmented into an open hole and cased hole. The cased hole segment is estimated to hold the largest market share owing to the benefits offered by the product including determination of the state of cement, corrosion, and perforation. In a cased hole, both gamma-ray and neutron porosity can be run through. Additionally, better ideas regarding the thermal decay and interval transit can be achieved through hydrocarbon saturation, porosity, and producibility measurements. The open hole segment is also projected to grow at a considerable pace owing to deployments of sensors to measure every aspect of reservoirs on the site and in real-time.

By Service Analysis

Increasing Application of Electric Line During Exploration Activities to Boost Service Segment

Based on the service, this market is segmented into an electric line and a slick line. The electric line segment is expected to hold the largest market share, as it improves the efficiency and avoids capital wastage by having the information of oil field capacity. The slick line segment is growing steadily,  as standard cable wire is used to retrieve tools and equipment and is estimated to grow owing to limited mechanical operation.

By Location Analysis

Surging Shale Gas Production from Onshore Locations to Augment Onshore Segment

Based on the location, this market is divided into onshore and offshore. The ongoing trend towards adopting cleaner sources of energy to reduce carbon emission has witnessed considerable investments in shale gas production in the coming years. This has seen an increase in the onshore activities being carried out for exploring shale gas. This trend for producing shale gas reserves is attributed to the growth of the onshore segment over the projected period. The offshore segment is also anticipated to grow significantly over the forecast period due to increasing investments in drilling activities.

By Application Analysis

Increasing Demand for Shale Gas will Aid Growth of Well Completion Segment

Based on the application, the wireline services market is broadly categorized into well intervention, well completion, and well logging. The well logging segment is estimated to hold a larger market share owing to the increasing demand for drilling new wells for producing shale gas and crude oil exploration. The well intervention segment is also projected to grow owing to the existence of mature and aged oil wells, which creates the need for increasing the efficiency of an oil well. The well completion segment is also anticipated to grow owing to a growing concern for gaining real-time data for monitoring the well.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

Geographically, the global market is segmented into five major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is estimated to hold a larger portion of market share owing to an increasing number of oil and gas discoveries with huge potential for exploring oilfields. For instance, in May 2020, crude oil production in the U.S. has reached a new height of 12.2 million barrels per day (MMbpd). In July 2019, Exxon Mobil had planned to sign an initial investment for a liquefied natural gas project worth USD 33 billion for the biggest plant in Africa.

The market is anticipated to exhibit significant growth in North America, where the United States possesses a considerable demand for wireline services owing to the shale boom in the country. In 2018, North America accounted for the largest market share for wirelines services across the world. For instance, the region has numerous drilling projects planned in the USA and Canada during the forecast period. Thus, North America will be the dominant region during the forecast period in the market.

The market in the Middle East & Africa is witnessing huge investments from regional companies in the oil & gas industry for increasing the production of oil & gas, which results in the growth of the wireline services market. For instance, in April 2020, Qatar Petroleum has initiated a drilling campaign for the North Field East project as the first of 80 development wells from eight wellhead platform locations. Hence, increasing production and exploration projects boost the application of wireline services for pipe recovery, intervention, reservoir evaluation, and other applications, which will further aid market growth.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players such as Schlumberger and Weatherford to Help in Shaping Industry Outlook Better

Key players are developing advanced technologies and featured services for production and exploration in the oil & gas industry. Companies are also focused on undergoing different mergers & acquisitions, product development, and JV's to strengthen their position in a competitive environment. Companies are also focused on delivering a complete set of services and solutions for efficiently carrying out numerous tasks across all phases in the oil & gas industry.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED :

• Schlumberger (Texas, US)


• Baker Hughes (Texas, US)


• Halliburton (Texas, US)


• Weatherford (Texas, US)


• China Oilfield Services Limited (Beijing, China)


• National Oilwell Varco (Texas, US)


• Archer Limited (Bermuda, United Kingdom)


• Superior Energy Service Inc. (Texas, US)


• FMC Technologies (Texas, US)


• Weir Oil and Gas (Glasgow, United Kingdom)


• Emerson (Missouri, US)


• Weltec (Allerod, Denmark)


• Schneider Electric (Rueil Malmaison, France)


• Siemens (Munich, Germany)


• Petrofac (Saint Helier, Jersey)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• April 2019- The Trump administration had proposed the Trump plan in 2018 announcing to open more than a million acres of public and private land in California for fracking, which will boost the application for wireline services.


• May 2019- The largest independent oil and gas company in Europe was formed after a multibillion-euro merging deal between the energy unit of German chemicals group BASF with rival DEA. This will lead to growth in exploration activities around Europe, helping the wireline services market to grow.


• April 2019- Halliburton company has introduced the Elect frac sleeve, a mono bore sleeve solution that enables unlimited stage count in multistage fracturing operations. The Elect frac sleeve is an evolutionary step in completion sleeves, supporting greater flexibility for highly optimized reservoir access with pinpoint well stimulation options.

REPORT COVERAGE

The report provides an elaborative analysis of the global market dynamics and competitive landscape. Various key insights presented in the report are the trend analysis, recent industry developments in the global market, such as mergers & acquisitions, the regulatory scenario in crucial countries, macro, and microeconomic factors, SWOT analysis, and key industry trends, competitive landscape, and company profiles.

Report Scope & Segmentation