Completion Fluids Market

The drive for increased oilwell productivity is a key trend shaping advancements in the chemistries in completion fluids. Various processes in oil completion phases—notably preparing, clean out, and repairing—need these completion fluids that may of different flow characteristics and density. They are typically bereft of any solid material content, and are placed between the tubing and casing. One of the key functionalities that has underpinned the demand in the completion fluids market rests on the need for completion fluids that prevent buckling in the oil and gas industries. Continuous studies have been made in its place, the reason having to do with the right pressure and temperature of reservoirs, notably with differential pressure and static reservoir temperature. Laboratory evaluation has been done by specialty chemicals manufacturers in this regard.

Need to explore new material characteristics in drill-in-fluids has propelled researchers in the oil and gas sector to ransack with new formulations. At the forefront of such efforts are many fluids service companies who have over the years expended sizable dollars to extensive laboratory testing. A key aspect that underpins the acceptance of products in the completion fluids market is cost-value trade-offs. Typically, the equation will change in different drilling situations, such as with horizontal and vertical oilwells. Advances in oilfield equipment is a key trend that has influenced the growth dynamics in the completion fluids market.

The completion fluids market is a vital part of the oil and gas industry. Completion fluids are used to top up a reservoir before the initial extraction operations begin, and alter the chemical balance of the reservoir to make it suitable for extraction. As such, the formulation of completion fluids used in distinct regions has to be customized, making their role vital for the industry.

The prime driver for the global completion fluids has been the growing acknowledgment of the insufficiency of conventional oil sources. Conventional terrestrial oil wells have started to dry up at an alarming rate, leading to growing use of shale oil and offshore oil and gas resources. This has been vital for the completion fluids market, as more processing is required in unconventional oil and gas extraction technologies. New regional and competitive entities have emerged in the lead in the oil and gas market due to the shifts caused by the changing dynamics of oil production, which has also altered the global completion fluids market. The instability in the oil and gas sector has affected the completion fluids market adversely, but the latter is likely to exhibit steady progress in the coming years.

Regionally, key offshore oil producing regions such as Latin America, Asia Pacific, and West Africa are likely to be crucial for the global completion fluids market. While the Middle East’s dominance on the global petroleum sector has been founded on the abundance of terrestrial oil, an increasing number of players in the region are also expanding their offshore resources, leading to growing demand from the completion fluids market. Growing shale oil activities in North America are also vital for the completion fluids market.

Completion fluids are solid free highly filtered liquids that are used in the completion of oil and gas wells. Completion fluids help facilitate the final operation before the initiation of production. The chemical composition or properties of completion fluids should be in line with the reservoir characteristics. Brines such as bromides, chlorides, and formates are the typically used completion fluids. Besides these, any fluid with proper characteristics can be used as completion fluid. Based on application, the global completion fluids market has been segmented into onshore and offshore operations. In terms of fluid type, the completion fluids market can be segregated into oil based fluids, water based fluids, synthetic based fluids, and foams. The completion fluids market can be further divided in terms of region.

Global Completion Fluids Market: Trends and Opportunities

The global completion fluids market is expected to expand significantly, led by the rise in demand for cutting-edge technologies and implementation of nanotechnology. Increase in demand for energy, significant expansion of the shale industry, and rise in offshore drilling activities to locate the potential oil and gas reserves are the primary factors driving the completion fluids market. Usage of ecofriendly fluids that are less damaging to reservoirs is expected to be the new trend in the global completion fluids market. The completion fluids market is anticipated to expand at a significant pace in the near future due to the adoption of the state-of-the-art components and nanotechnology.

The global completion fluids market has been contracting since the last few years owing to the instability in the upstream sector. Factors such as initial cost of upstream project, political issues, and stringent regulations of governments are restrains in completion fluids market. Certain regulations pertaining to environmental concerns, especially in offshore projects, need to be cleared by agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Ministry of Environmental Affairs (MEA). These factors are estimated to hamper the completion fluids market in the next few years.

Global Completion Fluids Market: Region-wise Overview

North America constitutes significant share of the global completion fluids market due to the abundance of oil and gas reserves and increase in shale gas production and exploration activities across the U.S. and Canada. The completion fluids market in the Middle East has been expanding substantially due to the abundance of oil and gas reserves in the region, rise in demand for energy, and rapid industrial development.

The completion fluids market in Europe has been expanding significantly owing to the rise in exploration activities in the North Sea. The decreasing levels of production, demands going in to deeper waters to find oil and gas reserves. Increase in population coupled with the rise in demand for energy is likely to drive the completion fluids market in emerging economies in Asia Pacific. The oil & gas market in Africa has been contracting since the last few years due to the various social and political factors such as internal wars etc. Nevertheless, these issues have been well handled by concerned authorities and security across the region has improved considerably. This has encouraged companies to commence operations in Africa. In turn, this is expected to boost the completion fluids market in the region in the next few years.

Global Completion Fluids Market: Competitive Landscape

Key players operating in the completion fluids market include Royal Dutch Shell Inc., SynOil Energy Services, Geo Drilling Fluids, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Pt. Tesso Tetra Chemika, Halliburton, Canadian Energy Services, Tetra Technologies Inc., and Anchor Drilling Fluids Inc.