Shale Gas Market Size, Share, Competitive Landscape and Trend Analysis Report, by Technology and End-user : Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast 2021–2030

Shale Gas Market Outlook - 2030

The global Shale gas market size was valued at $57.2 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $130.3 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2020 to 2030. Shale gas is a natural gas found in shale deposits, where it is trapped in microscopic or submicroscopic pores. This natural gas is a mixture of naturally occurring hydrocarbon gases produced from the decomposition of organic matter (plant and animal remains). Typically, shale gas consists of 70 to 90 per cent methane (CH4), the main hydrocarbon target for exploration companies. This is the gas used for generating electricity and for domestic heating and cooking. 

In addition, shale gas is different from conventional gas as it is a form of unconventional hydrocarbons as the rock it is extracted from acts as the source, reservoir, and cap rock. The gas is produced, stored, and sealed within impermeable shale and can be released only after the shale is drilled and artificially fractured during an extraction process. Moreover, it is extracted with the help of two production techniques, which include horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. 

Furthermore, the government of developing nations such as India is planning to blend 15 per cent green hydrogen with piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic, commercial, and industrial consumption. The move is in line with India’s ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming carbon neutral by 2070. This initiative is expected to be part of the government’s National Hydrogen Energy Mission aimed at generating hydrogen from green power sources.

The shale gas industry is segmented on the basis of technology, End-user and region. Depending on technology, the market is categorized into vertical fracking, horizontal fracking and rotary fracking. On the basis of End-user, it is classified into residential, commercial, industrial, power generation and transportation. By region, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The shale gas market analysis covers in-depth information about the major industry participants. The key players operating and profiled in the report include Southwestern Energy Company, EQT Corporation, Equinor ASA, Repsol SA, SINOPEC/Shs, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation and PETROCHINA/Shs

Global Shale Gas Market, by Technology

By type, the vertical fracking segment dominated the global shale gas market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed to its advantages as compared to other types of fuels that include low price, low carbon decomposition as compared to other fuels.

Global Shale Gas Market, by End-user

By End-user, the power generation segment dominated the global shale gas market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed since natural gas provides a quarter of overall U.S. energy needs and it is used to generate a quarter of the nation's electricity. Other nations such as Russia also use natural gas for energy needs.

Global Shale Gas Market, by Region

By region, North America dominated the global shale gas market in 2020, and is projected to remain the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is attributed to numerous factors such as large reserves, new End-users of hydraulic fracturing technology, horizontal drilling, and development of new sources of shale gas.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• The report provides an in-depth analysis of the global shale gas market trends along with the current and future shale gas market forecast.
• This report highlights the key drivers, opportunities, and restraints of the market along with the impact analysis during the forecast period.
• Porter’s five forces analysis helps analyze the potential of the buyers & suppliers and the competitive scenario of the global shale gas market for strategy building.
• A comprehensive market analysis covers factors that drive and restrain the shale gas market growth.
• The qualitative data in this report aims on market dynamics, trends, and developments.

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Global Shale Gas Market

• US shale oil & gas demand plummeted, prices collapsed, and bankruptcies were announced at exceptional rates due to the uncertainties in crude oil & natural gas prices, Break-Even (BE) prices for fracking operations, financial & technical constraints within the industry, global hydrocarbon demand development, political & regulatory factors in the US, and environmental & societal sustainability
• US shale industry registered net negative free cash flows of $300 billion, impaired more than $450 billion of invested capital, and saw more than 190 bankruptcies since 2010. These factors had negative impact on global shale gas market.
• The emergence of COVID-19 has coincided with a core oil market management dispute. That dispute mainly involves the market shares commanded by Saudi Arabia (the largest sovereign producer among the OPEC membership) and Russia which, along with Mexico & occasionally Norway, has cooperated with OPEC as “OPEC+”. Oil market management disputes inevitably result in lower prices, and so the global oil industry finds itself reeling from the combined effects of OPEC+ disarray and ultra-low global demand caused by the pandemic.
• The world began locking down its economies, which brought historic low oil and gas prices as demand crashed. This meant that investment in LNG production and export facilities became less attractive. With demand in freefall, U.S. producers began questioning their investment timescales for new LNG export projects. Final investment decisions have been delayed on seven U.S. LNG projects, representing around 14 billion cubic feet per day of potential capacity.
• Natural gas consumption was negatively impacted in early 2020 by an exceptionally mild winter in the northern hemisphere. This was soon followed by the imposition of partial to complete lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 and an economic downturn in almost all countries & territories worldwide. As of early June, all major gas markets have experienced a fall in demand or sluggish growth at best as is the case of the People’s Republic of China (hereafter, “China”). Europe is the hardest hit market, with a 7% year-on-year decline so far in 2020. The global oversupply is pushing major natural gas spot indices to historic lows.
• The decline was widespread, with record declines in both OECD (-4.8%) and non-OECD (-3.9%) countries. The US (the world’s 2nd-largest energy producer) saw a decline of 5.3%, the largest decline in the world last year, and the largest domestic decline on record.  Production of all fossil fuels, nuclear power, and biofuels decreased.
• The price effects of the economic slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to reductions in U.S. petroleum and natural gas reserves in 2020. Proved reserves of crude oil and lease condensate decreased by 9 billion barrels in 2020, a decline of 19%, and proved reserves of natural gas decreased by just over 22 trillion cubic feet (TCF), a decline of 4%.
• Globally, natural gas production also saw a record decline, falling by 3.3%.  Yet none of the world’s top ten producers suffered a record decline—rather, the decline of natural gas production was broadly-based, with 40 of the 50 countries named in bp’s production table seeing declining output last year.  And as noted above, natural gas – unlike oil and total energy– saw global production decline more rapidly than demand, even without coordinated producer action as we saw with oil.
• Petroleum demand, which was largely inelastic—changing by one to three percent annually—slumped by more than 30 MMbbl/d in April. Lockdowns of several nations across the world caused drastic changes in the crude oil market. Oil prices decisively broke the new normal of $50–60/bbl, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) May futures prices falling even below zero (-$37/ bbl) due to low liquidity and limited available storage. Although the sub-zero price was a temporary dislocation, this intense volatility highlights the fragile state of the industry.
• According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a surge in the price of crude oil began during the lockdown due to extensive supply and less demand, which increased the production of electricity. However, there is no impact of COVID-19 on the shale gas market due to the extensive production of oil.
• COVID-19 impacted almost all industries by hindering various industrial operations and disrupting the supply chain. Maximum companies halted their operation due to fewer workforces. However, there is a sluggish decline in the global shale gas market due to impact of COVID-19. 
• Furthermore, import and export activities were significantly impacted, which, in turn, adversely affected the industries using shale gas and thereby affecting the global shale gas market.