Shale gas acceptance will boost sensors market

Currently, flow, level, pressure and temperature sensors are used for wellhead, fracking and separation in shale gas production. Sensors have great potential in this industry but this relies on government acceptance due to the environmental concerns associated with fracking. So far the market has remained small because governments are undecided on whether hydraulic fracturing can be conducted, and oil and gas companies have not been certain about the feasibility of commercial shale gas production.

Sensors are critical in the shale gas industry: they can be used to address several complexities in hydraulic fracturing such as fracture orientation, its distance and geometry, and lateral and vertical extent; microseismic fracture-mapping sensors can enhance the accuracy of fracturing by providing details on seismic imaging; sensors installed in the well provide data on fracture characterisation during drilling; and sensors installed on the drilling device help to identify new drilling directions.

With shale gas activity most prominent in North America, the market for sensors in shale gas is concentrated here. This allows sensor manufacture expertise from the US shale gas industry to be leveraged for other regions. Sensor manufacturers could also position themselves as solution vendors rather than sensor component vendors to gain greater shares of the global market.

V Sankara Narayanan, Senior Industry Analyst, Measurement & Instrumentation, Frost & Sullivan, commented: “Companies have continuously invested in the broad automation sector and have adopted sensor solutions to improve efficiency and process variable monitoring, as well as reduce maintenance costs and the total cost of ownership. This is expected to drive the demand for sensors and instrumentation in the overall oil and gas industry and ultimately, in the shale gas industry as well. Overall, the market for sensors in shale gas will get a boost when the current uncertainty regarding legislation, policy and commercial readiness is resolved. This will allow the oil and gas companies to establish the commercial feasibility of shale gas exploration across the world and thereby, engage in business with sensor manufacturers.”