Global Drag Reducing Agents Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031

Global Drag Reducing Agents Market, By Type (Polymers, Suspensions, Biological Additives, Surfactants), Form (Liquid, Powder), End-Use (Oil & Gas, Civil Work, Fire Fighting, Marine, Irrigation, Biomedical, Chemical, Others) - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2031.

Drag Reducing Agents Market Analysis and Size

The essential factors contributing to the growth of the drag reducing agents market in the forecast period of 2024 to 2031 include increasing demand for flow-improving products, growth in energy production industry and rise in research & development activities and integrating novel technologies for developing advanced drag-reducing agents.

Data Bridge Market Research analyzes that the global drag reducing agents market which was USD 650.70 million in 2023, is expected to reach USD 940.40 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period of 2024 to 2031. In addition to the insights on market scenarios such as market value, growth rate, segmentation, geographical coverage, and major players, the market reports curated by the Data Bridge Market Research also include in-depth expert analysis, geographically represented company-wise production and capacity, network layouts of distributors and partners, detailed and updated price trend analysis and deficit analysis of supply chain and demand.

Report Scope and Market Segmentation

Market Definition

Drag reducers or drag-reducing polymers are additives in the pipeline that reduce turbulence in the pipeline. Often used in oil pipelines, they increase the capacity of the pipeline by reducing turbulence, allowing the oil to flow more efficiently.

Global Drag Reducing Agents Market Dynamics

Drivers

• Growth in the energy production industry

The growth in energy production, particularly in the oil and gas industry, has led to an expansion of pipeline networks to transport these resources over long distances. The drag-reducing agents are increasingly used across the oil & gas refining and transportation industries to enhance the pipeline capacity and increase laminar flow. As pipelines extend, the demand for drag-reducing agents to improve the flow of these products grows.

• Increasing use of drag-reducing agents in medical applications

The increasing use of drag-reducing agents in medical applications is the key trend in the market. Drag-reducing agents are proven to be beneficial for blood circulation and helpful in treating cardiovascular diseases. These agents are administered for metastasizing tumor cells. These agents reduce drag in veins and arteries and regularize blood flow. This prevents potential tumor cells from settling down and deprives them of nutrients.

Opportunities

• The rising need for efficient transportation of petrochemicals

Drag-reducing agent reduces frictional pressure loss during fluid flow in a conduit or pipeline. Reducing the amount of turbulent motion in the flow reduces pressure loss. By employing DRA, it is possible to increase flow and use the same amount of energy or to lower pressure drop while maintaining the same rate of fluid flow in pipes. In petroleum production systems, increasing flow capacity and pumping rates is difficult because of drag or frictional losses. In order to reduce drag and enhance the fluid's capacity to flow or pump at the rates needed to reach the desired flow rate or improve transportation efficiency, drag-reducing agents are typically added to the fluid. Recent advancements in nanotechnology have widened the use of DRA in oil field systems. The rising need for efficient transportation of petrochemicals is creating new growth opportunities for drag-reducing agents in the forecast period.

Restraints/Challenges

• Rising investments in electric vehicles

The EV industry is growing rapidly and sales are becoming large enough to create substantial profit pools for well-positioned investors. Several benefits are associated with the EV sector, for instance, the transition to EVs has the potential to significantly reduce the import bill of crude oil due to its reduced demand.

This drag-reducing agents market report provides details of new recent developments, trade regulations, import-export analysis, production analysis, value chain optimization, market share, impact of domestic and localized market players, analyses opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, changes in market regulations, strategic market growth analysis, market size, category market growths, application niches and dominance, product approvals, product launches, geographic expansions, technological innovations in the market. To gain more info on the drag reducing agents market contact Data Bridge Market Research for an Analyst Brief, our team will help you take an informed market decision to achieve market growth.

Impact and Current Market Scenario of Raw Material Shortage and Shipping Delays

Data Bridge Market Research offers a high-level analysis of the market and delivers information by keeping in account the impact and current market environment of raw material shortage and shipping delays. This translates into assessing strategic possibilities, creating effective action plans, and assisting businesses in making important decisions. Apart from the standard report, we also offer in-depth analysis of the procurement level from forecasted shipping delays, distributor mapping by region, commodity analysis, production analysis, price mapping trends, sourcing, category performance analysis, supply chain risk management solutions, advanced benchmarking, and other services for procurement and strategic support.

Expected Impact of Economic Slowdown on the Pricing and Availability of Products

When economic activity slows, industries begin to suffer. The forecasted effects of the economic downturn on the pricing and accessibility of the products are taken into account in the market insight reports and intelligence services provided by DBMR. With this, our clients can typically keep one step ahead of their competitors, project their sales and revenue, and estimate their profit and loss expenditures.

Recent Developments

• In October 2022, Infinum & Entegris agreed to acquire the pipeline and industrial materials division of Infinum by Entegris. It is part of specialty chemicals and engineered materials that include a wide range of drag-reducing agents for pipeline operations
• In August 2022, Baker Hughes announced an agreement to acquire Quest Integrity a subsidiary of Team, Inc, in the development and delivery of technology-enabled asset inspection and reliability management solutions for the pipeline, refinery, petrochemical, and power generation industries. Baker Hughes pipeline inspection services identify, describe, locate, and size abnormalities in a pipeline's wall that may need the use of drag reducers to decrease frictional pressure drops in a pipeline or conduit during fluid flow
• In January 2022, Innospec Oil-field Services introduced a water-based friction reducer, “AquaBourne.” It is for FR polymers that are purposefully devoid of any oil or surfactants
• In March 2021, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, a leading petroleum refining company in India, entered into a partnership with a global chemical manufacturing and supply company, Dorf Ketal Chemicals LLC, to manufacture drag-reducing agents at the latter company's production facility at Dahej, Gujarat

Global Drag Reducing Agents Market Scope

The drag-reducing agents market is segmented on the basis of type, form, and end-use. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyze meagre growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

Type

• Polymers
• Suspensions
• Biological Additives
• Surfactants

Form

• Liquid
• Powder

End-Use

• Oil & Gas
• Civil Work
• Fire Fighting
• Marine
• Irrigation
• Biomedical
• Chemical
• Others

Global Drag Reducing Agents Market Regional Analysis/Insights

The drag-reducing agents market is analyzed, and market size insights and trends are provided by country, type, form, and end-use, as referenced above.

The countries covered in the drag reducing agents market report are U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, rest of Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., South Africa, Egypt, Israel, rest of Middle East and Africa, Brazil, Argentina and rest of South America as part of South America.

North America is expected to dominate due to the growth in shale oil and gas production, and the expansion of pipeline networks has driven demand for these additives. Extensive crude oil and natural gas pipelines in North American countries have contributed to adopting drag-reducing agents.

Asia-Pacific is expected to show significant amount of growth in the market due to the expansion of industries coupled with increased oil & gas exploration activities, which has increased the demand for DRAs to improve pipeline transportation efficiency.

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in regulation in the market domestically that impacts the current and future trends of the market. Data points like down-stream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends and porter's five forces analysis, case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of domestic tariffs and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.   

Competitive Landscape and Global Drag Reducing Agents Market Share Analysis

The drag reducing agents market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to drag reducing agents market.

Some of the major players operating in the drag-reducing agents market are:

• Baker Hughes (U.S.)
• Flowchem (U.S.)
• Innospec (U.S.)
• NuGenTec (U.S.)
• Oil Flux Americas (U.S.)
• TransAsia Gas International (Singapore)
• The Zoranoc Oilfield Chemical (China)
• CLARIANT (Switzerland)
• BASF SE (Germany)
• Lubrizol Corporation (U.S.)