Horizontal Directional Drilling Market is expected to reach US$ 6,420.45 million by 2030

Rising Infrastructure Development in Telecommunications and Mineral Exploration Sectors Bolsters Horizontal Directional Drilling Market Growth

According to our latest study on "Horizontal Directional Drilling Market – Global Analysis – by End-use, Rig Size, and Application," the market was valued at US$ 2,802.69 million in 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 6,420.45 million by 2030; it is anticipated to record at a CAGR of 3.9% from 2022 to 2030. Apart from growth drivers, the report covers the horizontal directional drilling market trends and their foreseeable impact during the forecast period.

The growing urbanization and rising government focus on infrastructure development that involves network expansion in rural areas are a few factors increasing the application of horizontal directional drilling equipment. For instance, in 2024, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited declared a US$ 7.8 billion tender to employ the third Phase of the BharatNet project, which is one of the important rural telecom projects. In 2023, Grid Telecom and Exa Infrastructure collaborated to boost digital connectivity and offer infrastructure services anchored in Europe. The partnership is focusing on offering their wholesale and corporate customers diverse open-access interconnection and international reach across Europe. In 2023, Chinese state-owned telecom firms such as China Mobile Limited, China Telecommunications Corporation, and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd (China Unicom) are developing a US$ 500 million undersea internet cable network that is anticipated to connect the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. In 2022, Telecom Italia (TIM) won contracts worth US$ 86.94 million in a government tender to develop 5G networks in the rural area of Italy. With these initiatives, the number of underground cable installations for expanding telecom connections in remote locations is also growing, which is contributing to the growing horizontal directional drilling market size.

Horizontal Directional Drilling Market Share — by Region, 2022

Source: The Insight Partners Analysis

The onshore and offshore mineral exploration requires a high level of drilling activities, which boosts the application of horizontal directional drilling equipment across the globe. Governments of various countries are working on mineral exploration projects as one of the major parts of their economic development. Also, they are focused on the discovery of new mining locations, as well as the upgradation and maintenance of already existing mining sites. For instance, in 2023, Irving Resources Inc. started diamond drilling at its East Yamagano high-grade epithermal gold-silver vein project in Kyushu, Japan. In 2023, Metal Tiger plc announced that Southern Gold Limited had initiated drilling at its Deokon Au-Ag project in South Korea. Southern Gold is anticipated to commence drilling the first of two diamond drill holes for 500 meters at the untested extensions of the Deokon Main Mine at the Deokon Project. In 2023, American Pacific Mining Corp declared that one drill rig remained to test the Christmas or Red Creek (CRC) Target area during the demobilization of the 2023 mountain drilling program. The CRC Target is one of 12 known VMS assignments at the Palmer Project apart from the mineral resources of the Palmer and AG deposits.

Thus, rising infrastructure development in the telecommunications and mineral exploration sectors fuels the horizontal directional drilling market growth.

The scope of the horizontal directional drilling market report includes North America (US, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (Spain, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Rest of Europe), Asia Pacific (South Korea, China, India, Japan, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific), Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Rest of Middle East & Africa), and South & Central America (Brazil, Argentina, and Rest of South & Central America). In terms of revenue, North America accounted for the largest horizontal directional drilling market share in 2022. APAC is the second-largest contributor to the global horizontal directional drilling market, followed by Europe. The rising demand for broadband services in North America is anticipated to boost investments in the cable network. The next-generation broadband technologies such as high-speed internet packages (FTTx) and 5G are increasing the deployment of cables, which is propelling the need for horizontal directional drilling activities in the region. In 2023, AT&T will expand 5G and fiber to connect urban, rural, and tribal communities nationwide. In Lawrence County, Indiana, AT&T is building AT&T Fiber for more than 1,200 customer locations in a project worth more than US$ 4.3 million. In 2023, American Pacific Mining Corp declared that one drill rig remained to test the Christmas or Red Creek Target area during the demobilization of the 2023 mountain drilling program. The CRC Target is one of 12 known VMS assignments at the Palmer Project apart from the mineral resources of the Palmer and AG deposits. The growing focus on the mineral exploration sector is anticipated to propel the growth of the horizontal directional drilling market size. 

The natural gas pipeline infrastructure has ~3 million miles of mainline and other pipelines that connect natural gas production sites and storage facilities with primary consumers. In 2021, this natural gas transmission network carried ~27.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to ~77.7 million consumers. The US Gulf Coast is expected to register significant growth in prime gas infrastructure with over 20 LNG terminal projects and over 2,200 km of proposed or in-construction pipeline during the forecast period. Furthermore, during the Russia-Ukraine war, many countries discontinued their respective operations with Russia-based oil and gas businesses, which resulted in a shift of gas importers from Russia to the US. The rise in demand for gas augmented gas production operations across the US, which fuels the gas pipeline infrastructure growth in the US. Thus, the rising activities in the oil & gas industry boost the drilling activity in the country, which is increasing the application of horizontal drilling equipment in the US.

Horizontal directional drilling equipment manufacturers in the US such as American Augers, Inc.; Ditch Witch (The Charles Machine Works, Inc); and Vermeer Corporation contribute to the growth of the horizontal directional drilling market with their innovative product offerings. DD110, DD240T, DD440T, DD600, DD660RS, and DD1100RS are among the large rig horizontal directional drilling equipment offered by American Augers Inc. D100x140 S3 horizontal directional drilling, D130S horizontal directional drilling, D220x300S horizontal directional drilling, D220x500 S3 horizontal directional drilling, D330x500 horizontal directional drilling, D550 horizontal directional drilling, D1000x900 horizontal directional drilling, and D1320x900 horizontal directional drilling are a few horizontal directional drilling equipment offered by Vermeer Corporation. The US is one of the largest producers of crude oil in the world. The country comprises more than 8,650 oil rigs that are currently in operation and produce crude oil for domestic consumption and exports. Several countries, including Mexico, Canada, China, South Korea, and the Netherlands, rely on imports of crude oil from the US. The number of offshore rigs rose from 436 in 2020 to 580 in 2021 and 721 in 2022, which drives the demand for horizontal directional drilling equipment in the US.

The horizontal directional drilling market analysis is based on end-use, rig size, and application. Based on rig size, the horizontal directional drilling market is segmented into small (Less than 40,000 lbs), medium (40,000–100,000 lbs), and large (more than 100,000 lbs). The rapid development of the telecommunication, mining, and oil & gas industry is projected to propel the application of small, medium, and large rigs globally during the forecast period. Based on rig size, the large (more than 100,000 lbs) segment is anticipated to hold a significant share of the horizontal directional drilling market by 2030.

American Augers, Inc.; Prime Drilling GmbH; Epiroc AB; Vermeer Corporation; The Charles Machine Works Inc.; Laney Directional Drilling; Nabors Industries Ltd; Herrenknecht AG; Tracto-Technik; and Drillto Trenchless Co., Ltd are among the key players profiled in the horizontal directional drilling market report. The companies implement both organic (such as product launches, expansion, and product approvals) and inorganic (such as collaborations and partnerships) strategies to stay competitive in the market.

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