The increasing gas and oil production and exploration activities will have a tremendous impact on the global market. For instance, in 2019, the Gulf of Mexico observed new oil discoveries by key companies such as Shell, Chevron, Repsol, and Equinor. Shell has been successful in deep-water well-exploration projects. The new exploration project is expected to produce more than 900,000 barrels of oil by 2020. The increasing energy demand will subsequently accelerate deep-sea exploration, which, in turn, will aid expansion of the market.
The oil & gas industry is expected to account for the lion’s share in the world’s primary energy supply by 2050. The increasing utilization of unmanned underwater vehicles in the oil and gas industry can have an outstanding effect on the market in the forthcoming years. Moreover, the increasing commercial applications such as seafloor mapping or seabed imaging and pipeline disruption study in the sea environment will foster healthy unmanned underwater vehicles market growth.
The global unmanned underwater vehicles market size is expected to reach USD 9,502.7 million by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 17.59% during the forecast period. The increasing application of UUVs in underwater search and survey, communication, navigation, and maritime surveillance will propel the healthy growth of the market, states Fortune Business Insights, in a report, titled “Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) Market, 2021-2028.” The market size stood at USD 2,960.8 million in 2020. The catastrophe caused by coronavirus has disrupted the supply chain of every industry around the world. We understand that this health emergency has negatively impacted various sectors across the globe. Rising support from governments and several companies can help in the fight against this highly infectious virus. Some industries are struggling, and some are thriving. More or less, nearly every sector is estimated to be impacted by this pandemic.
Disrupted Oil Industry to Dampen Business Amid Coronavirus
COVID-19 had a severe impact on the industries due to the spread of the disease to almost 200+ countries worldwide. Moreover, the global oil industry experienced a sudden drop in demand across various countries. The oil demand is projected to fall 9.3 mb/d year-on-year in 2020 and 2021. According to UNCTAD, global maritime transport plunged by 4.1% in 2020 due to unexpected disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The disorder has mainly hampered the supply chain, shipping network, trade volumes, and port. However, the global Shipping industry is making efforts for sustainable recovery and smooth operations, which, in turn, will aid the market.
Increasing Investments in the Defense Sector to Augment Growth in Asia Pacific
North America is expected to hold the largest UUVs market share during the forecast period. The United States is the largest producer, operator, and exporter of UUVs globally. The increasing use of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in commercial and defense sectors will promote the expansion of North America’s market. The growing use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for carrying deep-water surveys in oil & gas production can contribute positively to the market growth in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to experience a significant growth rate during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the increasing investments in the defense sector from several countries such as India, China, Japan, South Korea, and others.
Key Development:
June 2020: Seamec Limited announced that it has signed a three-year contract with Fugro for inspection, repair, & maintenance (IRM) of subsea pipeline on India’s west coast. Fugro is expected to offer work class ROV services to Seamec during the contract duration.
The Report Lists the Key Players in the Market for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles:
- Boeing (The U.S.)
- Fugro (The Netherlands)
- General Dynamics Corporation (The U.S.)
- International Submarine Engineering (Canada)
- KONGSBERG (Norway)
- L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (The U.S.)
- Lockheed Martin Corporation (The U.S.)
- Oceaneering International, Inc. (The U.S.)
- Saab AB (Sweden)
- Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (The U.S.)
North America, with a market size of USD 367.6 million in 2019, is anticipated to lead the agriculture drone market share during the forecast period. This is mainly attributable to the rapid uptake of advanced UAVs by farmers in the region to increase farm output. Complementing this is the framing of friendly policies by lawmakers in the region supporting deployment of commercial drones and small UAVs for agricultural activities. Asia Pacific is expected to generate tremendous growth opportunities for this market as the countries in the region are heavily dependent on agriculture and are making massive investments to make agriculture more technology-driven. In Europe, the ability of farmers to utilize drone technology for better farm yields will augur well for the market. Key companies are concentrating all their energies towards exploiting the wide opportunities for innovation to diversify their portfolios and entrench their position in the market in the process. Moreover, companies are also exploring avenues to enter and expand into developing economies, in a bid to broaden their business horizons.
To meet the food requirements of this surging number of people, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the overall food production will need to rise by 70% and production in developing countries will need to double from the current levels. Agriculture drones will play a central role in supporting the efforts of governments in elevating their farm yields. These UAVs offer wide-ranging and decisive advantages to farmers, who can make enormous gains from these machines. For example, drones equipped with smart sensors can enable farmers to collect accurate information on soil conditions. Drones can also spray crops with insecticides and pesticides, thus minimizing farmers’ contact with these harmful chemicals.
China has been uncharacteristically open about its intentions for AI, from an announced underwater city inhabited and operated entirely by robots to official government goals of capitalizing on AI to transform their military into the strongest in the world. While Chinese government spending on AI research is far greater than that of the U.S., however, a large percentage of global effort is coming from the U.S. commercial sector, on which the Pentagon relies heavily for technology advances. Still, Chinese companies also are increasing their AI investments.
The influence of massive spending on developing AI for undersea systems portends the greatest change in military sea power since the introduction of nuclear-powered vessels. “Equipping our military vessels with a higher-level of artificial intelligence is the answer to the increasing size and complexity of data to be processed as well as the need to reduce staff,” says Dominique Giannoni, an executive at Thales Underwater Systems in Valbonne, France.
