Twenty percent growth in Desalination Technologies Market - new forecast by Global Water Intelligence

A new study from Global Water Intelligence, Produced Water Market :
Opportunities in the Oil, Shale and Gas Sectors in North America,
shows that the total value of the US produced water market is set to
grow from $5.0 bn in 2010 to $9.9 bn in 2025, at 4.7% annually. But
within this sector, the produced water treatment equipment market will
grow from $693 million in 2010 to $2.9 billion, an annual growth rate
of 10.1%, and the desalination technologies market, currently worth
$59 million, will enjoy the fastest growth rate, averaging 20.4% per
year.

Conventional oil production has peaked in the US onshore oil industry
but the produced water management market will continue to grow, the
report says, due to an increasing water to oil ratio (WOR) and
because new, unconventional sources of oil and gas have additional
produced and process water needs. GWI’s report focuses on just one
aspect of this: the produced water treatment market.

The report shows in detail that demand for advanced water treatment
technologies is expected to grow most quickly in four main sectors of
the market: 1) Conventional oil fields 2) Enhanced oil recovery
techniques 3) Shale gas industry 4) Oil sands industry. The
technologies which will do best in this new market are likely to be
both membrane and thermal desalination technologies, filtration
systems and biological treatment systems.

However, publisher Christopher Gasson, warns of a number of
challenges, especially for seawater desalination technology companies
looking to take advantage of these growth opportunities:
“There is a different objective here, switching the focus from the
production of potable water to the reduction of a waste stream.
Establishing themselves as credible suppliers without a track record
will be difficult in this highly conservative oil & gas market, which
is why the three main water technology companies that have entered
this market (Veolia, GE Water and Siemens) have done so through
acquisition rather than organic growth”.

“But”, Gasson added, “there is room for a large number of small
specialist suppliers as well as the large established ones because the
nature of the challenge varies so much according to geography,
geology, local regulation and the type of resource. There are also
specific niche opportunities with strong prospects. Companies may
outsource where the treatment need is cutting-edge or temporary, and
there is a development need for more efficient low-energy/high
recovery desalination techniques and better initial oil/water
separation technologies. There is also an opportunity here for someone
that can offer oil & gas separation as well as tertiary treatment –
the complete package”.

The report suggests that companies that could expect accelerated
growth in this sector include Cameron, Heckmann, Nalco, Aquatech,
FilterBoxx, Aqua Pure, Hydration Technologies and Water Standard
Company.

GWI’s new report is the first of a new series of Primary Research
reports from GWI this year; forthcoming titles are Water for Mining,
Energy from Waste, and Sludge Management.