New NSR Report Projects Oil & Gas Via Satellite Market Will Reach Nearly $1 Billion by 2020

March 1, 2011

According to NSR's newest market research report, Oil & Gas via Satellite released today, challenges within traditional Oil & Gas markets of the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico limit long term retail revenue, and future growth will come increasingly from Greenfield opportunities. However, despite lower growth, the traditional markets will continue to provide stable revenue opportunities for established satellite players.

In total, NSR projects global Oil & Gas via satellite revenue will grow from approximately $600 Million in 2010 to $975 Million in 2020, yielding total retail revenues of nearly $8.8 Billion over the ten-year period. This growth will be driven by new technologies such as high throughput satellites (HTS), and the push of Oil & Gas operations into remote environments where satellite is the only game in town.

"Terrestrial penetration in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea reduces the value-proposition of satellite-based solutions," stated Claude Rousseau, Senior Analyst with NSR, "yet, places without terrestrial solutions will be where satellite players see the largest growth, mainly in deep water or northern latitude markets." Along with terrestrial penetration, increases in regulation and a slowdown of new discoveries also limit overall growth in traditional markets. 

The Atlantic Ocean will continue to dominate, providing 33% of total retail revenues in 2010 but by 2020 will drop to only 27% of revenue as fast-growing markets in the Indian and Pacific Oceans mature. NSR forecasts the offshore segment will grow at approximately 8% per year, to total retail revenues of over $450 Million by 2020. Onshore pipelines will also see a push into remote areas, providing growth to the European markets.

With Deepwater Horizon behind the Oil & Gas Industry, companies now have renewed interest in continuing to expand exploration and production plans, and increasing the capacity to deliver crude or natural gas products from production site to their final markets. Oil & Gas companies continue to look for the 'next big thing', both in deeper waters and northern climates. As terrestrial solutions continue to penetrate the traditional markets, these 'next big things' will be where satellite-based solutions dominate.