Level Transmitter Market Growth – Facilitating Energy Independence

Rising global population, increasing degree of consumption, rapid pace of industries is leading to increasing demand for energy as is the case with a swift rate of urbanization. A shift in lifestyle and consumption trends ranging from personal care to food and beverage has resulted in increased investments in manufacturing and production expansion. Further, there has been proactive participation of players within the oil and gas industry whereby there has been an upswing in explorations activities. Further, the chemical process industry is one of the most important industries, which is known to buttress the production of fertilizers that aids in the sustenance of an important mainstay of the global economy which is animal husbandry and agriculture. Thus, the proliferation of these industries necessitates the execution of a myriad of industrial measurements to assess a range of fluid levels in diverse conditions, giving rise to the demand for level transmitters consequentially aiding in a conducive environment within the semiconductor industry that is facilitating the development of various kinds of a level transmitter.

Global Annual Petroleum and Other Liquids Production (Thousand Barrels per Day)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

Before all foregoing, the end-user industry of oil and gas is expected to hold a significant market share during the forecast period. To this end, it should be noted that according to the United Nations (UN) oil constituted a 37% share of primary energy. With estimated phasing off of coal in the future, the oil demand is expected to grow because of increasing demand for fuel and the plethora of variants that find their applications in shipping, petrochemicals, long-distance freight, and aviation. The offshore sector as a source of energy is expected to gain currency due to the availability of equipment and infrastructure along with the expertise to facilitate offshore oil extraction, even though the wide cognizance alternative source of power generation and its consequent implementation has been carried out by certain economies. Also, it is important to note that at current rates of production the global oil companies hold reserves of 13 years of an average. Further, as per the UN, around 25 countries have bonds, which are validated, by the anticipation of extractable reserve ranging over durations that spans across 25 to 100 years. Resultantly, investments in upstream and downstream processes are inevitable.

To put the aforesaid in context a few noteworthy projects which are being listed below:

January 2020: The Ministry of Natural Resources, The Government of China had reportedly announced that it will make its market for oil and gas exploration and production accessible to private and foreign companies.  Further, both domestic and foreign companies that are registered in China and owns net assets worth no less than 300 million yuan (appr. $42.86 million) will be reportedly eligible to obtain oil and gas mining rights.

April 2020: A scheduled commencement of the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique is expected in 2025. It has been scheduled with revised capital investment for 2020 amounting to $23 billion. The total LNG nameplate capacity of the project is reportedly to be 15.2 mtpa.

May 2020: The construction and operation of the Alaska LNG project were reportedly approved by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  Moreover, FERC has reportedly granted the authorization of authorization for liquefication and exportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The exportation will be carried out from the North Slope to an export facility in Nikiski, Alaska. Then on to Alaska Gasoline Development Corporation (AGDC), which is an independent, public corporation of the State of Alaska. This project amounts to an estimated $43 billion.

June 2020: It was reported that Gazprom Neft PJSC (MCX: SIBN) has commenced a full-fledged development of major hydrocarbon clusters which has a reported potential resource being at 650 million tons of oil. It spans across the license blocks in Tyumen Oblast and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in Western Siberia.

Therefore, from the rapid pace at which the developments took place in a short period and the manner in which oil and gas exploration has been prioritized by governments, it can be discerned that the end-use industry of oil and gas are poised to creating opportunities for various players of the same market. Thus, arises an undoubted integration of level transmitters, which in turn is expected to drive the level transmitter market in the next few years. To this extent, one key development among a few is the launch of Model 575 by AMETEK Inc. (NYSE: AME) in June 2020, which is reportedly an intrinsically safe level transmitter, facilitating continuous fuel level monitoring in diesel storage tanks, through the Model DDMC meter/controller. With an optional conduit adapter to enable cable protection the transmitter is placed in the liquid.

While the aforesaid is that of a contact type, the category of contactless level transmitters is expected to witness an increased share of the market, because mechanical measuring techniques are prone to malfunction and will require maintenance. Therefore, contactless radar technology is the choice when dealing with LNG/LPG for example. Apropos such scenarios a few recent market developments pertaining to contactless level transmitters are being mentioned below –

December 2019 – Portfolio Expansion

KROHNE had reportedly announced the introduction of four new additions to the OPTIFLEX series of guided radar (TDR) level transmitters, with each of them designed for specific areas of application in a variety of industries. A few of them are OPTIFLEX 3200 which is the trusted choice for applications with hygienic requirements in the pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries; OPTIFLEX 6200 has been designed for minerals & mining industries, metals, chemical, and agri-food industries. Further, OPTIFLEX 7200 has been developed for oil & gas and the chemical and industries for facilitating level and interface measurement of liquids in process and storage applications.

Therefore, the growing importance of level transmitters and the aforesaid portfolio expansion also suggests the growing recognition of RADAR level transmitters and their evident applications in a diverse set of end-use industries. The end-use application exemplified along with other applications as well as the continuous investments in product development is expected to usher in healthy market growth during the next few years.