Higher E&P expenditure, financial durability of the companies and customers are likely to drive the oilfields services (OFS) market in the Middle East to record revenues worth $13.4b by 2019, said Trade Arabia, citing a report by Ken Research.

The report, entitled “Middle East Oilfields and Drilling Services Market Outlook to 2019 – Future Growth led by Deepwater Drilling and Quest for Increased Production”, calculated the Middle East OFS industry’s at around $9.7b in 2014 alone.

The figure resulted from increased enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and increased number of mature fields, creative an attractive market to foreign investors in exploration, production, drilling, well intervention and development, completion, waste management field.

According to The Hans India the report recommends that the players operating into the drilling and oilfield services have to enhance their E&P expenditure as well as reduce operational costs, reduce drilling rig time and support faster production.

The authors of the report admit that the OFS sector in the Middle East is likely to face a marginal slowdown in terms of revenue growth, thanks to low oil prices, but a surge in drilling demand will take place once prices of crude stabilize in the long run.

The report also predicted a qualitative change in the OFS sector in the region as companies increasingly move into offshore markets, with offshore applications of these techniques likely to take place in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman where the onshore drilling market share is anticipated to deteriorate.