Oilfield rentals market to be worth $46.8bn by 2018

The market for the rental of oilfield equipment will be valued at US$46.8 billion by 2018 according to new market research.

Growth is being driven by rising oil and gas prices and increasing drilling activity, particularly in the exploitation of shale oil and hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in North America and the flourishing oil and gas industries in Africa and Latin America.

The report, by US-based research company MarketsandMarkets (M&M), said drilling contractor and oilfield service providers were increasingly renting rather than buying equipment.

The rental market is highly fragmented, according to the report, with the top 20 players representing around one third of the total market. Most rental companies are small, specialist companies, with the bigger players often being rental divisions of large oilfield service companies.

The top five oilfield renters are Halliburton Co (US), Oil States International Inc (US), Schlumberger Ltd (US), Superior Energy Services Inc (US), and Weatherford International Ltd (Switzerland). Weatherford is the largest in oilfield rentals, with annual revenues of more than $10 billion (including non-rental activities).

North America is the largest market, representing almost 35% of the global total in 2012, followed by Asia Pacific (21.1%) and Europe/Eurasia (18.4%).

The report says that drilling equipment, including drill pipes, are the most commonly rented items, followed by pressure and flow control equipment. Blow out preventers (BOPs) dominate the pressure/flow control rental market.

The report is available from M&M priced at US$4650.