by An Overview
Oilfield services refer to the various technology-driven products and services used in the oil and gas industry to aid in exploration, extraction, production and development of oil and gas reserves. These include seismic and drilling services, technologies for production operations, oilfield equipment and infrastructure required at oilfields and production facilities. Petroleum industry services companies provide technology, expertise, equipment and manpower support to exploration and production companies throughout the lifecycle of oil and gas projects.
Seismic Services
Seismic services involve using specialized equipment and technologies to map prospective Oilfield Services and gas reservoirs deep below the earth’s surface. Seismic data is collected using sensors/geophones that record sound waves emitted by seismic sound sources into the earth. This data helps identify potential hydrocarbon traps and structure of underground geological formations. Key seismic services include 2D/3D seismic surveys, seismic processing, interpretation and reservoir characterization and monitoring. Advanced seismic technologies like 4D seismic are being increasingly used for reservoir management.
Drilling Services
Drilling contractors own and operate rigs and equipment to drill wells as per clients requirements. Major drilling services include land, offshore and directional drilling using rotary and drilling rigs. Directional drilling technologies allow drilling multiple boreholes from a single wellbore. Downhole instrumentation, drilling fluids technologies and contractor expertise help drill challenging wells. Drilling technology innovations enable tapping unconventional resources like tight oil, shale gas and deepwater reserves.
Production Services and Equipment
Production services involve enhancing and optimizing oil & gas production from reservoirs. Key services include well intervention & workover services, production testing, artificial lift technologies, sand control, well monitoring & automation solutions. Production equipment required include pumps, compressors, separators, meters, valves and control systems. Subsea production systems enable producing oil & gas from deepwater and ultra-deep reservoirs. Production optimization services help maximize asset productivity and recovery rates.
Oilfield Infrastructure Services
Infrastructure services involve constructing production facilities, tank farms, pipelines and offshore platforms required at oilfields. These include engineering, procurement, construction, installation of production facilities and related civil works. Key infrastructure services and solutions include modular construction of well pads, central processing facilities, transportation pipelines and marine offshore infrastructure. Integrated solutions help build oilfield infrastructure across challenging geographies and environments.
Well Completion Services
Well completion involves preparing newly drilled wells for production. It involves running production tubing, installing downhole equipment like sleeves/packers to seal off zones, perforating reservoir zones for fluid flow, gravel packing and stimulating production through fracturing or acidizing. Well completion technologies and chemical solutions help extract oil/gas safely from diverse reservoir types including tight/shale formations. Completions optimize initial well productivity and recovery.
Digital and Industrial Services
Digital technologies are increasingly getting adopted across oilfield operations to optimize performance, enhance decision making, automate manual processes and integration. Key digital petroleum industry services include reservoir modeling, Advanced seismic data analytics, IoT based well & production monitoring, automation solutions, Analytics based production optimization, connectivity solutions. Industrial service companies provide products & solutions for operations, maintenance and asset integrity management across fields.
The Global Oilfield Services Industry
The Petroleum industry services constitutes a significant share of upstream oil and gas spending. In 2020, global Petroleum industry services was estimated at over $200 billion, projected to grow further as oilfield activity increases. North America currently accounts for over 40% share of global Petroleum industry services revenues followed by the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. The key drivers include rising crude oil demand amid economic recovery post pandemic, focus on optimizing output from mature oilfields and developing new reserves including shale resources. Ongoing energy transition also drives demand for alternatives like enhanced oil recovery and carbon capture.
Key Global Trends in Petroleum Industry Services Sector
– Digitalization is a major trend with growing focus on data-driven operations, automation and remote operations to improve performance. This is enabling lower costs and optimized decision making.
– Technology innovations are enabling accessing harder to produce unconventional oil & gas reserves including deepwater, tight oil, heavy oil and oil sands resources.
– Integrated well construction and technology-driven completions are helping maximize productivity from reservoirs including tight/shale formations.
– Subsea infrastructure and deepwater project developments are growing to tap offshore reserves including pre-salt plays.
– Production optimization and enhanced recovery techniques like hydraulic fracturing help extending asset life and recovering additional reserves from mature fields.
– Adoption of more environment-friendly and efficient operations through technologies like managed pressure drilling and reduced emission completions.
– Service companies are providing integrated solutions and partnerships throughout project lifecycles to help clients improve returns.
– Global mergers and acquisitions activity reflects consolidation to achieve economies of scale and offer comprehensive services globally.
oilfield services industry plays a pivotal supporting role by providing technology, expertise, equipment and solutions in exploring, developing and sustainably producing global oil & gas reserves. In the upcoming decades of rising energy needs and transition, petroleum industry services firms will continue to innovate and enable safer, lower carbon and more optimized management of hydrocarbon resources.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public Source, Desk Research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it.
