High-profile cyber-attacks will help drive growth in the oil and gas security and service market, which is estimated to grow from $26.3 billion in 2015 to $33.9 billion by 2020, according to a report from research firm MarketsandMarkets.
The market research firm defines oil and gas security as “the security process in which the oil and gas operational sectors, namely, upstream, midstream, and downstream are secured with the help of stringent physical and network security measures to ensure operational efficiency and minimize losses associated with security breaches.”
Surging cyber-attacks targeting oil and gas firms are driving investment in oil and gas security solutions, the report says, noting that increased government pressure and security compliance and regulations are playing a part, along with political turmoil in Middle Eastern countries.
Most of the physical assets at oil and gas installations are subject to terrorist attacks and sophisticated and high-profile cyber-attacks, the report says.
“Various surveillance and monitoring techniques such as video surveillance, mass notification, and perimeter security can be instrumental in preventing security breaches as well as conducting effective audit trail,” MarketsandMarkets said. “Workforce nowadays are increasingly using mobile devices while working on offshore rigs in remote areas. This has led to investments in network security by enterprises to keep their network infrastructure and communication lines robust and secure.”
Increased spending by oil and gas companies on infrastructure and network protection and the growth of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in the sector will also drive spending, along with the increasing need for vulnerability assessment and management solutions.
The predicted increase in overall spending to to $33.9 billion by 2020 would represent a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2015 to 2020.
North America, which has been a leader in adoption of oil and gas security solutions, is expected to have the largest market share, though Latin America will have the highest CAGR during the period, the report said.
Major vendors in the oil and gas security and services market include ABB, Intel Security, Symantec, Cisco, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Siemens AG, UTC, and others, MarketsandMarkets said.
Late last year, MarketsandMarkets predicted that the global Industrial Control System (ICS) Security market would reach $8.73 billion in 2019, representing an estimated CAGR of 7.2% from 2014 to 2019. North America is expected to be the biggest market on the basis spending and adoption for ICS security solutions, the report said, noting that that increasing energy markets in developing economies and increased deployment of ICS infrastructure will further enhance the growth of the overall market.
