Non-Destructive Testing Market In Oil and Gas - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Non-Destructive Testing Market In Oil and Gas - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The non-destructive testing (NDT) market in oil and gas is expected to witness a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period 2021-2026. According to the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, every day, more than 25,000 inspections are carried out in factories and on-site in the United Kingdom to detect defects and damage in a massive range of products, plants, and structures; it is estimated that more than 120,000 inspectors are operating worldwide.

• Increasing machine complexity, increasing requirements for accurate product usage specifications, continued strict enforcement of government regulations to ensure worker safety, and increasing strict quality control requirements drive the NDT market.
• Previous evidence of infrastructure failures such as refinery leaks, pipeline explosions, and refinery explosions has led governments worldwide to impose stricter safety regulations on NDT, which has fuelled the growth of the market.
• Significant growth is expected in ultrasonic testing. This is where the broadcast of low-frequency waves ( 20kHz to 100kHz) can detect and identify changes in material properties, often indicating that the mechanical integrity of the part is compromised. Often this is the detection of corrosion in underwater or buried pipelines.
• The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has turned out to be unfavorable and unforeseen for almost all industries globally, including automotive, construction, airlines, manufacturing, among others. As a preventive measure, many governments worldwide implemented lockdowns to contain the novel coronavirus's spread and its subsequent adverse effects. The disrupted global supply chain and decreased industrial productivity, thereby strained the global economy. The companies' production and manufacturing capabilities were also disrupted due to the sudden outbreak of the virus.

• Over the last few years, camera-equipped drones have become another commonly used tool in NDTs for collecting visual data. Due to technical limitations, drones could only provide inspectors with supplementary visual data for some time, but they were not a substitute for inspectors to physically collect the visual data themselves. However, as drone technology has improved, inspectors can now use the drone as an RVI tool, eliminating the need to collect visual data in some cases manually.
• Drones improve workplace safety by eliminating the need for inspectors to enter dangerous areas to collect visual data. For outdoor inspection of assets such as refineries, pipelines, and oil reserves, drones can be used to collect visual data to reduce the amount of time a person needs to be physically in the air on a tower or line.
• For indoor inspection of assets such as pressure vessels and boilers, using a drone-like Elios 2 from FlyAbility, to collect visual data eliminates the need for inspectors to enter confined spaces and significantly reduces the risk.
• To date, the primary use of drones in NDT has been the collection of visual data.However, thermal sensors mounted on drones have allowed inspectors to collect thermal data on a drone-by-drone basis over the past few years. Over time, new sensors developed for drones may emerge to support more NDT technologies.

• With the rise of oil and gas projects in countries such as United States, Canada, and Mexico, the region can grow strongly over the next few years. United States is one of the largest producers of natural gas and crude oil.
• United States has one of the world's largest technically recoverable shale gas reserves and the second-largest tight oil reserves. Hydraulic fracturing and break-even technology developments support upstream oil and gas in the onshore region, creating a high demand for NDT companies.
• Canada is one of the largest producers of gas and oil in the world. The oil and gas industry plays a vital role in the country's economy. Oil sands remain a significant source of hydrocarbon production, accounting for more than 90% of total oil reserves. According to the Canadian Oil Producers Association (CAPP), the country's oil production is projected to reach 5.4 billion barrels per day in 2030, with oil sands accounting for 70.7% of total production.
• The factors mentioned earlier contribute to the increasing demand for Non-Destructive Testing of the oil & gas market in the region during the forecast period.

​​​​​​The NDT market is competitive. The increasing regulations, which make it mandatory for different organizations to undergo a life assessment procedure as a safety measure coupled with the regular inspection required to check for any damage in the equipment and to take necessary, create a market for NDT. Thus, the companies are entering this market, seeing a huge opportunity. Some of the key players are Magnaflux Corp, Zetec Inc, YXLON International Gmbh ( COMET Group), Fujifilm Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Bureau Veritas SA, amongst others. Some recent developments are:

• March 2021: SST-NDT, a subsidiary of Denholm Energy Services, signed a non-destructive testing contract with Bahrain Petroleum Company's ( BAPCO) Modernization Programme. The project is expected to take 12-24 months to complete.
• November 2020: Novosound, a Scottish technology start-up, launched its non-destructive testing (NDT) products. The company launched Kelpie, Belenus, and Nebula that will be useful for different sectors including oil and gas.

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