The substantial fall in oil prices has weakened the onshore market, causing project delays and a focus on reducing costs for pipeline owners, an industry expert told Trade Arabia.

“Despite this, the delays we have observed have a different complexion to other oilfield sectors and have been limited in large part to the North America region,” added Matt Loffman, author of the 8th edition of the World Onshore Pipelines Market Forecast 2015-2019 from Douglas-Westwood (DW), a leading provider of market research and consulting services to the energy industry worldwide.

Onshore pipeline expenditure is only expected to grow to $220 b between 2015 and 2019, according to the report.

In other news, however, the National Shipping Co of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) announced its board had approved the purchase of two used oil tankers for $157 m, said the American Journal of Transportation.

The ships belong to South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., delivering the two very large crude carriers (VLCCs) between November 15 and January 31.

The financial impact of the deal will be seen in the first quarter of 2016, Bahri announced, but without elaborating.