US boosting oil well cement demand through 2024

CW Research, in its World Oil Well Cement Market Forecast 2024, projects consumption of cementitious materials for drilling in the US to reach roughly four million tons by 2024.

The upward trend will be supported by an improvement in drilling activity, in turn underpinned by the recovery of oil prices.

ÔÇ£Finding its footing, US exploration activity has again wound up with drilling activity resuming after a period of ÔÇÿcricket- likeÔÇÖ silence. Although global oil dynamics are still playing out, somewhat reducing demand for sweet light US-type crude, a reasonably strong US economy is supporting renewed drilling and consequently a notable uptick in oil well cement demand,ÔÇØ notes Robert Madeira, Head of Research for CW Advisory and Research.

Oil well cement consumption recovers

One of the world's largest crude oil producers, the US market has an estimated daily production of around 10 million barrels per day. That makes the US the leading oil and gas well driller in North America, and also the leading market for oil well cement consumption in the region.

The US alone accounts for roughly 40% of the global oil well cement consumption, thus making North America the largest regional consumer of the commodity. Oil well cement demand in the country peaked in 2014 at over seven million tons. However, consumption collapsed in 2016 following challenging conditions in the oil and gas industry. By 2018, oil well cement consumption recovered by over 50 percent, mainly on the back of a large addition of onshore and shale wells.

Buyers require API certification

On the production side, Cemex is the major oil well cement manufacturer in the United States, with four manufacturing units, followed by LafargeHolcim with three, and Buzzi Unicem with two.

Customer-wise, Schlumberger, Halliburton, and Baker Hughes emerge as some of the largest oil well cement consumers.

Although buyers in the US market require API certification, the market for non-monogrammed oil well cement is strong. This is due to the pricing deferential between monogrammed and non-monogrammed oil well cement, amidst a premium pricing strategy adopted by renowned manufacturers for their API-certified cement. As a consequence of the acceptance of non-monogrammed cement in the market, API-certified companies are oftentimes discouraged from renewing their certification.

CW Research's World Oil Well Cement Market Forecast 2024 report provides an in-depth forecast analysis of the worldwide oil well cement market, including regional market shares, demand, imports, exports and types of oil well cement used by geography, as well as price trends. Find out more about the report here