Pipeline Monitoring System Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology, By Pipe Type, By Application, By Industry Vertical, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The global pipeline monitoring system market size was valued at USD 14.12 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% from 2022 to 2030. The growth of the pipeline monitoring system market is attributed to the increasing installations of pipelines utilized for the transportation and distribution of oil and gas supplies globally. Moreover, the growing cases of leakage due to corrosion within pipelines propel the demand for pipeline monitoring systems. Oil and gas manufacturers are rapidly adopting monitoring systems to reduce wastage, minimize environmental footprint, and ensure safety.

The adoption of leak detection systems has ensured safety, feasibility, real-time analysis, and improved performance owing to the improved pipeline infrastructure. Additionally, the installation of pipeline monitoring/detection systems has reduced geo-hazards, thefts, internal leakage, and ruptures. Furthermore, the advent of pigging technology within existing and new pipelines are positively influencing the growth of the market. The pigging technology performs operations such as maintenance, clearing, inspection, clearing, dimensioning, and pipeline testing.

The pipeline monitoring systems are utilized to locate corrosion, flow constrictions, and liquid accumulations and collect samples by evaluating risk and bacteriological control programs. The pipeline monitoring systems are generally employed within the following applications: plants & refineries, refined products, wet gas & crude pipelines, water & wastewater, offshore platforms, and pipeline terminals. The monitoring/detection systems provide accurate real-time monitoring of internal corrosion, gasses, fluids, and oil contamination.

Advancing technological aspects within pipeline infrastructure, such as Human Machine Interface (HMI), Distributed Vibration Sensing (DVS)/Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS), and Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), have strengthened the downstream process monitoring capabilities, intuitive interface software, and detection algorithms. The improving technological solutions integrated within monitoring systems have significantly propelled the growth of the market. 

Manufacturers employ hardware- and software-based methods classifying leakage detection systems into three primary groups: internal, external, and non-technical methods. The detection/monitoring methods comprise ground penetration radar, pressure point analysis, fiber optic sensor, negative pressure wave, acoustic emission, and dynamic modeling. 

The industry has remarkably evolved across North America and Asia Pacific owing to the accessibility of improved pipeline infrastructure, technological breakthroughs, and growing demand for oil & gas substances. The Pipeline Monitoring System market is fragmented, with a few players dominating and capturing a significant share of the overall market. These companies have invested an enormous sum of the amount on research and development activities, as the industry is anticipated to grow exponentially in the near future.

COVID-19 Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has highly affected the oil & gas industry, restraining the transportation and distribution of oil and gas. The setback of the oil and gas industry has also affected the development of the pipeline monitoring system industry. This impact resulted in the prolonged refining of petroleum & crude and temporarily halted the consumption of oil & gas in large volumes.

The pandemic also resulted in delayed project completion due to the lack of workforce due to the pandemic restrictions enacted globally. Moreover, the pandemic also influenced the prices of crude oils, making them highly volatile. The volatile nature of prices resulted in declined investments in the oil & gas industry during 2020 and early 2021.

However, rising concerns regarding the short-term and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on customer demand and government budgets have deteriorated the growth for a short period. Subsequently, as the pandemic restrictions eased, there has been a significant rise in the number of investments and exploration & production activities. The increasing research and development activities propelled the technological advancements improving pipeline detection/monitoring systems. Therefore, companies focused their attention on constructing new pipelines, developing safe transportation measures, and pipeline monitoring infrastructures.

Technology Insights

The acoustic/ultrasonic segment held the largest revenue share of 24.6% in 2021 and is expected to witness a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period. Acoustic/ultrasonic monitoring technology enables the detection of the location of the leak and flaws based on high-frequency sound waves and noise patterns within an extended range of pipelines. It utilizes acoustic emission sensors typically based on alterations in the background noise pattern. An acoustic detection device detects leaks by differentiating and characterizing leak sounds from normal water flow, propelling the growth of the market in the forecasted year. However, acoustic monitoring technology fails to detect small leaks that do not produce higher or detectable background noise.

The LiDAR segment is anticipated to witness the fastest growth, growing at a CAGR of 10.0% throughout the forecast period. LiDAR is an optical technology that utilizes a pulsed laser as an illuminating source sent from a transmitter. The reflected laser light from the objects is monitored utilizing a system receiver/ detector and the time of flight (TOF) for developing a distance map. LiDAR acts as a ranging device to measure the distance to a target, mainly identifying absorption, scatter, or re-emission from the objects. When integrated with pipeline monitoring systems, this technology enables a reliable scanning technique to avoid incidents related to oil contamination, leakage, and corrosion within the pipeline. These benefits offered by LiDAR are propelling the adoption of pipeline monitoring systems.

Pipe Type Insights

The metallic pipeline monitoring system market gained a market share of 77.6% in 2021 and is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of over 8% throughout the forecast period. Metallic pipes are widely used within oil & gas, petrochemical, refinery, and power plants for manufacturing and transportation purposes.

Utilization of metallic pipes, such as alloy steel pipes, stainless steel pipes, carbon steel pipes, and duplex stainless steel (DSS) pipes, provide high corrosion resistance, weldability, and higher yield & tensile strength. These pipes are ideal for underwater and underground transportation, capable of handling high-pressure and temperature applications, enabling smoother functioning when integrated with pipeline monitoring systems. These pipes are cost-effective and relatively maintenance-free, resulting in increased adoption of metallic pipes.

Application Insight

The leak detection segment dominated the overall market with a revenue share of 44.1% in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 7% during the forecast period. The leak detection solutions enable pipeline operators to improve the effectiveness of their leak detection programs. The leak detection solutions automatically alert the operators in case of pipeline failure to enact immediately to minimize spill duration and volume.

The operators employ leak detection solutions utilizing volume & mass balance meter in, volume & mass balance meter out, combination rate of change, simple rate of change, and computational monitoring systems to provide real-time analysis via land-based and aerial surveillance to monitor pipelines carrying oil & gas products. Volume and mass balance solutions are employed for detecting smaller leaks, whereas the rate of change and computational monitoring systems are suitable for detecting larger leaks.

The aforementioned leak detection solutions compare the mass and volume at an originating point and at a destination point to identify upsets or potential leaks. The potential leaks or upsets are further identified by scrutinizing operating parameters, such as density, flow, temperature, and pressure within the pipeline.

The pipeline break detection segment is anticipated to witness a significant CAGR of around 8% throughout the forecast period. Pipeline break detection solutions detect sudden pipe breaks occurring in water, oil, and gas distribution mains and transmission pipelines. The pipeline break detection solutions measure the pressure and timing of the waves to locate breaks within the pipeline. A pipe break creates tremendous negative pressure waves in both directions away from the break location.

The sudden break's transient approximates the break size and location. The pipe breaks are expensive owing to damage to the infrastructure, cost of repair, and service interruption. Moreover, locating a break is a complicated and time-consuming task depending on the type of break (internal or external) and type of pipeline (underwater or underground). These concerns aggravate the pipeline operators to incorporate pipeline break detection systems, therefore propelling the growth of the segment.

Industry Vertical Insight

The oil & gas segment dominated the overall market, gaining a revenue share of 68.6% in 2021, and is projected to witness a CAGR of over 8% during the forecast period. The oil & gas segment comprises crude oil, natural gas, biogas fuels, petroleum, and refineries. A pipeline forms the pillar for transportation in the oil and gas industry; therefore, manufacturers are implementing pipeline monitoring systems to ensure safety and avoid mishaps. Moreover, incorporating detection systems minimize environmental footprint, reduces wastage, and provides real-time analysis enabling quick error detection and implementation of solutions.

Furthermore, pipeline detection/monitoring systems have effectively eliminated ruptures, thefts, and internal leakage, propelling the growth of the market in the forecasted year. Moreover, the advent of technologies, such as PIGs, smart balls, acoustic/ultrasonic, magnetic flux leakage technology, fiber optic technology, mass volume/balance, LiDAR, and vapor sensing within existing and new pipelines, are positively influencing the growth of the market. The advent of leak detection solutions has progressively affected the development of the market.

Regional Insights

North America led the overall market in 2021, with a revenue share of 28.8%. The region is equipped with a highly developed pipeline infrastructure and owns an extensive research and development base, allowing the region to be the top revenue contributor in the worldwide pipeline monitoring systems market during the projected period. A well-established pipeline infrastructure has allowed the speedier implementation of modern technologies.

The significant presence of small and medium players in North America, which offer components and services to the giants such as Emerson Electric Co, Honeywell International Inc., and Rockwell Automation Inc., has also propelled the market growth. The growing technological investments and oil & gas exploration activities in the region fuel the growth of pipeline monitoring systems.

The U.S. is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period owing to a rise in the number of pipelines for crude, petroleum, water, oil, gas, and wastewater for transportation leading to amplified incorporation of pipeline monitoring systems to preclude the occurrence of leakage, spills, pipe bursts, and contamination. Furthermore, the interstate pipelines managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulate natural gas transportation, pipelines, and storage to ensure adherence to pipeline safety regulations.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) collaborates with pipeline operators, departments, and agencies to certify pipeline operation security, safety, compliance, and monitoring. It also lays stringent regulations and conducts inspections ensuring pipeline operators comply with safety regulations.

The Asia Pacific is expected to develop substantially by the projection period and grow at a CAGR of 8.8%. Significant contributors to the growth of the Asia Pacific market include Huawei Investment and Holding Co. Ltd., ORBCOMM Inc., and ABB Ltd., which have been developing advanced pipeline infrastructure and monitoring systems. The growing investments in oil & gas exploration activities and the construction of pipelines are propelling the growth of pipeline monitoring systems in the region.

For instance, in April 2021, China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network (also known as PipeChina) commenced the construction of natural gas trunk line in North China connecting the Power of Siberia project, a gas transmission system. PipeChina invested USD 1.3 billion in the gas pipeline construction, ensuring air quality improvement and promoting economic development.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is fragmented and is anticipated to witness increased competition due to several players' presence. Major players are spending heavily on research and development activities to integrate advanced technologies within pipeline monitoring systems has intensified the competition among these players. Some prominent players include ABB Ltd.; Emerson Electric Co.; Generic Electric Co.; Honeywell International Inc.; QinetiQ Group Plc; Huawei Investment and Holding Co. Ltd.; ORBCOMM Inc.; Rockwell Automation Inc.; Siemens AG; and Schneider Electric SE. These players are focusing on offering improved production processes, asset lifespan, productivity, and safety & compliance.

For instance, in April 2021, ABB Ltd. announced the launch of its Mobile Gas Leak Detection System, which is a cloud-connected Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based system: HoverGuard. The UAV-based gas leak detection system quantifies greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapors send a quick response with precision, and provides accurate information on complex environmental processes that cause pollution. The aforementioned companies are also collaborating with oil & gas corporations and local & regional players to gain a competitive edge over their peers and capture a significant market share. Some prominent players in the global pipeline monitoring system market include:

• ABB Ltd.

• Emerson Electric Co.

• Generic Electric Co.

• Honeywell International Inc.

• Huawei Investment and Holding Co. Ltd.

• ORBCOMM Inc.

• QinetiQ Group Plc

• Rockwell Automation Inc.

• Schneider Electric SE

• Siemens AG

Pipeline Monitoring System Market Report Scope

Global Pipeline Monitoring System Market Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growths at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global pipeline monitoring system market report based on technology, pipe type, industry vertical, application, and region:

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • PIGs

  • Smart Ball

  • Acoustic/Ultrasonic

  • Magnetic Flux Leakage Technology

  • Fiber Optic Technology

  • Mass Volume/Balance

  • LIDAR

  • Vapor Sensing

  • Others (Beta Foil Technology and Leo Technology)

• Pipe Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Metallic

  • Non-metallic

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Leak Detection

  • Operating Condition

  • Pipeline Break Detection

  • Others

• Industry Vertical Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Oil & Gas

  • Water & Wastewater

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • North America 

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • Russia

    • Norway

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • Australia

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa

    • UAE

    • Saudi Arabia

    • Qatar