Directional Drilling Market Research Report Information By Application (Onshore and Offshore), By Well Type (Horizontal, Multilateral, and Extended reach), By Service (Rotary steerable systems, LWD, MWD, and Motors) and by Region - Global Forecast till 2030

Global Directional Drilling Market Overview:

Directional Drilling Market Size was predicted at USD 6.7 billion in 2021. The directional drilling industry is predicted to grow from USD 7.3 billion in 2022 to USD 13.8 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% during the forecast period (2022 - 2030). One of the major reasons influencing the directional drilling market's expansion is a sharp rise in onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration operations. Additionally, the growing use of the products for surveying, designing, and building underground cables for installing subsurface electrical and telecommunication systems is the key market driver enhancing market growth.

Source: Secondary research, primary research, the MRFR database, and analyst review are all examples of research methods.

Directional Drilling Market Trends

The directional drilling sector is being driven forward by the discovery of reserves and oilfields. The major discoveries include the Alpine high in West Texas, Alaska in the United States, the Golan Heights in Israel, the gas discoveries at Dinkov and Nyarmeyskoye in the Kara Sea off the Yamal Peninsula in West Siberia, the oil discoveries at Tilapia, Yellowtail, and Haimara in the Stabroek block, and the offshore gas discovery at Lang Lebah-1RDR2. According to projections, oil prices will rise in the upcoming years, encouraging independent exploration companies, gas producers, and oil field operators to invest in new oil and gas finds. Therefore, the trend of discovering oil fields has enhanced the global market CAGR in recent years.

As the world population is expected to rise from 6.7 billion in 2011 to 8.7 billion by 2035, there will be a significant increase in the need for energy. The energy demand will increase significantly due to population expansion and the rising standard of living for many people in developing nations. The developing world, China and India, is responsible for more than 70% of the world's rising energy demand. Production requirements must be met to maintain the well's optimum output and extract the most oil and gas resources possible, thus driving the directional drilling market growth.

The global need for energy has increased due to the growth of the oil and gas industry. However, due to rising urbanization, globalization, and major economic development, it is anticipated that the considerable demand for unconventional fuel, such as shale gas, tight gas, and coal bed methane, will drive the directional drilling market expansion. According to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), shale formations contributed around 27.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of the country's total 2021 dry natural gas production, or 79%. The directional drilling market size is expected to be driven by growing interest in recovering undeveloped oil and gas. The expanding oil and gas industry is another factor driving the directional drilling market revenue.

Directional Drilling Market Segment Insights:

Directional Drilling Application Insights

The Directional Drilling Market segmentation, based on application, includes onshore and offshore. The offshore category is anticipated to experience the largest growth. Exploration and production activities are expected to be carried out globally in the near future due to the enormous unexplored oil and gas reservoirs. Additionally, the average breakeven price for all unapproved projects is falling, which lowers the cost of oil production in offshore locations. Hence, rising applications of the offshore sector positively impact market growth.

Figure 2: Directional Drilling Market, by Application, 2021& 2030 (USD Billion)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review

The second fastest-growing segment in the directional drilling industry is the onshore sector. Contrarily, lower infrastructure and maintenance costs make onshore projects less expensive than offshore horizontal directional drilling projects. The fluctuations in the price of crude oil significantly impact onshore horizontal directional boring projects.

Directional Drilling Well Type Insights

Based on well type, Directional Drilling Market segmentation has been divided into horizontal, multilateral, and extended reach. In 2021, the horizontal well type dominated the market. The expanding use of horizontal well type is strongly influenced by growing concerns about the need to reduce environmental harm brought on by the world's rapid infrastructure expansion. Additionally, the multilateral well witnessed the fastest growth rate in the Directional Drilling Market revenue. Multilateral wells cover a larger area of the reservoir than vertical wells and cover the reservoir more effectively. As a result, they have a higher production index and oil recovery, which means there is less need to drill further development wells in the reservoir.

Directional Drilling Service Insights

The Directional Drilling Market data has been bifurcated by service into rotary steerable systems, LWD, MWD, and motors. The Rotary Steerable System (RSS) segment led the market. The RSS machine type creates real-time corrections while accurately controlling drilling direction with push-and-point-the-bit techniques.

November 2020: D-Tech introduced the Invictus rotary steerable tool (RST). This new release will enable directional firms to use the RST with their preferred measurement while drilling (MWD) sensors for real-time downhole communication, providing all users with a greater understanding of downhole conditions at the lowest possible cost. This creation has further broadened the growth opportunity for the directional drilling industry.

The market for directional drilling services by service type is anticipated to develop at the highest rate during the projected period in the Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) segment. The capacity to continually monitor the wellbore and the real-time directional survey of downhole conditions can be credited with the market growth in this niche.

Directional Drilling Regional Insights

By Region, the study provides market insights into Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World. North America's directional drilling market accounted for USD 2.8 billion in 2021 and is expected to exhibit a significant CAGR of 42.9 percent growth during the study period. A greater market share is predicted for North America due to the region's considerable oil and gas sector finds and vast potential for oilfield exploration. By 2020, gas output is anticipated to average 47 billion cubic feet per day due to recovering drilling activity. Alberta, the nation's top producer of gas and crude oil in Canada, is predicted to have the greatest rise in activity. Consequently, the Canadian directional drilling market is predicted to expand gradually.

Further, the major countries studied in the market report are The U.S, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, and Brazil.

Figure 3: DIRECTIONAL DRILLING MARKET SHARE BY REGION 2021 (%)

Source: Secondary Research, Primary Research, MRFR Database and Analyst Review

Asia Pacific’s directional drilling market accounts for the second-largest market share. Additionally, National Oil Companies (NOC) are putting money into offshore exploration and production to boost domestic output and stimulate the directional drilling market. In addition, several APAC nations are boosting their capital expenditures (CAPEX) to meet future energy demands. The regional directional drilling market is expanding due to increased investments in the region's telecommunications sector to deploy 4G and 5G networks. The Indian government committed $30 billion to ensure every community has last-mile access to 4G and 5G services. Moreover, China's directional drilling market held the largest market share, and the Indian directional drilling market was the fastest-growing market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Europe’s directional drilling market is predicted to have significant market growth. Major European nations are investing significantly in exploring new offshore hydrocarbon reserves to expand domestic output. According to European Energy Industry Investments, utility firms are anticipated to spend USD 295 billion on transmission and distribution infrastructure under new policy scenarios for 2021– 2030. This would increase system efficiency and reliability, which will boost energy consumption. Further, the German directional drilling market held the largest market share, and the UK directional drilling market was the fastest-growing market in the European region.

Directional Drilling Key Market Players& Competitive Insights

The industry will expand as major market players make significant R&D efforts to diversify their product ranges. Market participants participate in many strategic measures to strengthen their global positions, in addition to important market developments such as new product releases, contractual agreements, mergers and acquisitions, increased investments, and collaboration with other organizations. If competitors in the directional drilling industry want to progress and succeed in a more competitive market, they must charge reasonable prices for their products.

Local manufacturing to lower operational costs is one of the key business methods employed by the directional drilling industry to satisfy clients and increase the market sector. The directional drilling industry has made some of the most significant medical discoveries in recent years. Directional Drilling market major players, such as Nabors Industries Ltd (Bermuda), Gyrodata Incorporated (U.S.), Cathedral Energy Services Ltd (Canada), and National Oilwell Varco (U.S.), are investing in R&D projects to enhance demand.

Vermeer Corporation is an industrial and agricultural equipment producer. The privately held corporation sells products globally from seven manufacturing plants, offices in Pella, Iowa, and multiple locations worldwide. For instance, in December 2020, Vermeer Corporation announced today that it had purchased Normag's electric-powered horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and fluid systems technology. Vermeer now has the rights to develop, manufacture, and market the proven fully electric HDD rigs, generator sets, and fluid management systems already sold across Europe under the Normag name.

Schlumberger Ltd (Schlumberger) supplies technologies to the oil and gas sector for reservoir characterization, production, drilling, and processing. The company also provides the industry with equipment and services ranging from exploration through production and integrated pipeline systems for hydrocarbon recovery. For instance, in November 2020, Schlumberger announced the launch of MagniSphere* high-definition NMR logging-while-drilling solution. This innovative service provides precise, real-time producibility analysis for optimal well placement, resulting in higher production and recovery in complicated reservoirs.

Key Companies in the directional drilling market include

• Baker Hughes Incorporated (U.S.)


• National Oilwell Varco (U.S.)


• Weatherford International Plc. (U.S.)


• Schlumberger Ltd (U.S.)


• Halliburton Company (U.S.)


• Nabors Industries Ltd (Bermuda)


• Cathedral Energy Services Ltd (Canada)


• Gyrodata Incorporated (U.S.)

Directional Drilling Industry Development

January 2023: IMDEX, a global mining-tech business, has entered into a formal agreement to buy Norway-based Devico AS for A$334 million ($230 million), which it claims will strengthen its industry-leading position in mining technology and improve market penetration. Devico AS, a developer of innovative sensors and directional drilling technologies, is likely to be acquired by late February.

October 2020: Schlumberger unveiled the TruLink definitive dynamic survey-while-drilling service today. The new service assists operators in improving end-to-end well construction operations and lowering overall drilling costs by completing decisive dynamic surveys while drilling on the bottom to identify and minimize potential drilling risks.

Directional Drilling Segmentation

Directional Drilling Application Outlook

• Onshore


• Offshore

Directional Drilling Well Type Outlook

• Horizontal


• Multilateral


• Extended reach

Directional Drilling Service Outlook

• Rotary steerable systems


• LWD


• MWD


• Motors

Directional Drilling Regional Outlook

• North America
  
  
  
  • US
  
  
  • Canada
  
  
  
  


• Europe
  
  
  
  • Germany
  
  
  • France
  
  
  • UK
  
  
  • Italy
  
  
  • Spain
  
  
  • Rest of Europe
  
  
  
  


• Asia-Pacific
  
  
  
  • China
  
  
  • Japan
  
  
  • India
  
  
  • Australia
  
  
  • South Korea
  
  
  • Australia
  
  
  • Rest of Asia-Pacific
  
  
  
  


• Rest of the World
  
  
  
  • Middle East
  
  
  • Africa
  
  
  • Latin America