North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Industry

North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Market Analysis

The North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Market is expected to register a CAGR of greater than 8.5% during the forecast period.

• Horizontal well type is expected to be the fastest-growing well type. In 2019, the majority of the wells active in the Permian Basin are horizontal wells (more than 2,000). As of April 2019, the total number of drilled wells in the Permian basin reached 555, repressing an increase of around 4.7% compared to the previous year's value in the same month.
• The economic viability of using CO2 and nitrogen-based 'foam' fluids, capable of providing waterless fracking, presents a growth opportunity for the companies in the near future.
• The United States has dominated the hydraulic fracturing fluids market, owing to increased shale oil and gas development in several basins, along with shift from vertical to horizontal wells for greater formation access.

North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Market Trends

Horizontal Wells to Dominate the Market

• Horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing both stand as separate technologies that have had a significant impact on the petroleum industry. The combination of the two technologies has resulted in an oil & gas industrial revolution in North America.
• Over the past decade, lateral lengths have increased from 2,500 ft. to nearly 7,000 ft. In the United States, the unique geological makeup of Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, and Marcellus, consisting of multiple layers of oil & gas and trapping shale that spans hundreds of miles, is expected to give rise to the deployment of horizontal drilling across the region. Therefore, the share of horizontal wells in the United States' active rig count has been increasing.
• The increase in the United States' natural gas production since 2005 has mainly been the result of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, notably in shale, sandstone, carbonate, and other tight geological formations.
• Horizontal drilling activity has dominated in 2020 and accounts for the vast majority of drilling activity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Therefore, an increase in horizontal well drilling activities propels the demand for the hydraulic fracturing and hence promulgating the hydraulic fracturing fluids market.

Increasing Demand from the United States to Drive the Market

• The United States has the fourth-largest, technically recoverable shale gas reserves and the second-largest tight oil reserves in the world. This is expected to be the major driver of the United States hydraulic fracturing fluid market over the forecast period.
• The hydraulic fracturing fluid market is expected to be driven by new well drilling, and expanding producing well base, and an ever-increasing lateral length in newly-drilled horizontal wells in the United States. This has further lead to increased spending in drilling and completion spending in the country, further bolstering the hydraulic fracturing fluids market in the United States.
• In the United States, the hydraulic fracturing market is affected by increased drilling activities, new offshore projects, and redevelopment of matured fields. Due to the recovering drilling activity, the gas output is expected to reach an average of 47 billion cubic feet per day by 2020. The production from Marcellus/Utica shale and new oil wells are expected to account for most of the growth in gas production.
• Oilfield service providers are expected to accelerate their deployment of more efficient drilling and completion methods into the shale patch, minimizing costs and attracting new investment. Therefore, fracturing fluid is one of the major components in the fracturing process, hence, witnessing a significant growth during the forecast period.

North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Industry Overview

The North America hydraulic fracturing fluids market is partially fragmented. Some of the key players are Baker Hughes Co, Calfrac Well Services Ltd., Halliburton Company, BASF SE, and Schlumberger Limited.

North America Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids Market Leaders