Composite Frac Plugs And Frac Balls Market

This report, from Stratview Research, studies the global composite frac plugs and balls market over the trend period from 2013 to 2018 and the forecast period from 2019 to 2024. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

The Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market: Highlights

Plug-n-perf is the most common technique and accounts for more than 85% share of the hydraulic fracturing market in which composite frac plugs and balls are the most preferred choices. The global composite frac plugs and balls market is likely to experience an excellent CAGR over the next five years to reach US$ 2,837.1 million in 2024. Rebounding crude oil prices; recovering rigs count, especially of North America; increasing share of hydraulically fractured oil & gas in the USA; increasing share of horizontal wells drilling in the USA; increasing average lateral length of wells; and increasing average number of frac stages are some of the major factors that are driving the demand for frac plugs and balls.

Composite frac plugs and balls are designed to provide zonal isolation of the wellbore between multistage stimulation treatments during the hydraulic fracturing. These composite balls and plugs are made from glass fiber with epoxy or phenolic resin and are easier to mill out than metal plugs and balls. They can withstand higher pressures and temperatures than traditional plastic and dissolvable salt balls. Frac plugs are generally in the range from 4.5 to 5.5 inches in diameter and 22 to 30 inches in length, whereas frac balls typically measure from 1.0 to 5.75 inches in diameter. A single wellbore requires 10 to 40 multi-part frac plugs to pressurize and perforate multiple oil and gas producing layers, also known as stages.

Hydraulic fracturing is considered to be the most promising technology for oil & gas production, where composite frac plugs and balls have a proven track record of more than three decades. The market for composite frac plugs and balls is highly dependent on the hydraulic fracturing activity which in turn, is dependent on the volatility of crude oil prices. Despite the short-term fluctuations in composite frac plugs and balls demand in North America caused by dropping new shale oil & gas activities that is a result of the decreasing crude oil prices, the long-term business outlook seems promising with good growth potential in the foreseen future.

The market is firstly bifurcated into frac plugs and frac balls. Both, composite frac plugs as well as balls, play a pivotal role in the plug-and-perf operation in the hydraulic fracturing. However, in terms of market size, frac plug dominates the total market and is expected to remain the larger and faster-growing segment of the market over the next five years, as composite frac plug is the highly-used technology in the plug-n-perf method, which optimizes the entire lifecycle of extraction of natural gas from run, set, test, hold, and mill.

In terms of region, North America is expected to remain the largest as well as the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. The major players such as Haliburton, Schlumberger Limited, Downhole technology Ltd., Weatherford International, and Baker Hughes, are based in North America only. The USA is the growth engine of the North American as well as the global composite frac plugs and balls market and will continue to drive the region’s market over the next five years. It is estimated that hydraulic fracturing accounts for about 70% share of the new oil and natural gas wells drilled in the USA, where plug-n-perf is the most dominant method. This is assuring a huge demand for composite frac plugs and balls in the country.

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material manufacturers, composite frac plugs and balls manufacturers, drilling contractors, EPC contractors and operators (oil & gas companies). The key oil & gas service companies are Baker Hughes, Halliburton (Houston), Schlumberger (Houston) and Weatherford International (Zug, Switzerland). The key oil & gas companies are British Petroleum, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips.

The composite frac plugs and balls market is marked by the presence of both, service companies manufacturing composite frac plugs and balls in-house as well as independent frac plug and ball manufacturers. The key well completion companies manufacturing composite frac plugs and balls are Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Weatherford, whereas the key independent manufacturers are Magnum Oil Tools, Downhole Technology, and Team Oil Tools. New product development, collaboration with customers, and regional expansion are the key strategies adopted by the key players to gain a competitive edge in the market.   

Research Methodology

This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. More than 1,500 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact book, press release, journals, investor presentation, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data. About 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts have been executed to obtain both the qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

• Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis
• Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis
• Market trend and forecast analysis
• Market segment trend and forecast
• Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities
• Emerging trends
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players
• Key success factors

The global composite frac plugs and balls market is segmented into the following categories. 

Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market by Product Type:

• Frac Plugs (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Frac Balls (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market by Resin Type:

• Epoxy Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Phenolic Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Other Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market by Manufacturing Process Type:

• Injection Molding (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Filament Winding (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Compression Molding (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market by Sales Channel Type:

• Direct Sales (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Distributor Sales (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Composite Frac Plugs and Balls Market by Region:

• North America (Country Analysis: The USA and Rest of North America)
• Europe (Country Analysis: CIS and Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Australia, China, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Latin America, and MEA)

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to 3 players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to 3 players)

Geographic Analysis

• Further segmentation of the USA into frac balls and frac plugs

Regional Segmentation

• Current market segmentation of any one of the regions by product type

Custom Research: Stratview research offers custom research services across the sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry at [email protected].