Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) Pipes Market

Glass Reinforced Epoxy (GRE) Pipes Market Outlook (2022-2032)

The global glass reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipes market is valued at US$ 2.62 Bn in 2022, and is forecast to reach US$ 4.45 Bn by 2032, expanding at a CAGR of 5.4% during the 2022-2032 time period.

Report Attributes	Details
GRE Pipes Market Size (2021A)	US$ 2.49 Bn
Estimated Market Value (2022E)	US$ 2.62 Bn
Forecasted Market Value (2032F)	US$ 4.45 Bn
Global Market Growth Rate (2022-2032)	5.4% CAGR
Asia Pacific Market Share (2021)	~35.5%
Asia Pacific Growth Rate (2022-2032)	7% CAGR
China Growth Rate (2022-2032)	8% CAGR
Top 3 Companies’ Market Share	~30%
Key Companies Profiled	AcwaPipe Advancedpiping Amerplastics Future Pipe Industry GRE Composites Hengrun Group Co., Ltd Kemrock Industry Lianyungang Zhongfu Lianzhong Composites Group Co. Ltd National Oilwell Varco NOV Fiber Glass Systems Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co. Shawcor Ltd Smithlinecomposites Tamdidpipes

GRE Pipes Market Historical Outlook (2017-2021) Vs. Forecast Outlook (2022-2032)

Over the past half-decade, the oil & gas industry has provided impetus to the GRE pipes and fittings market on the back of constant debottlenecking of cost loopholes. Moreover, with glass reinforced epoxy pipes being lighter and having lower maintenance cost as compared to that of SSP (seamless steel pipes), it has also propelled market growth over the same period at a CAGR of 4.3%.

Additionally, consumption of GRE pipes in 2021 stood at around 557 kilotons. Glass reinforced epoxy pipe consumption in the oil & gas sector accounted for a prominent market share attributed to extensive utilization in oil fields for brine transmission and desalination, oil & gas transmission, and offshore cooling water & drainage, among others.

Over the past half-decade, despite a slowdown in the demand for pipes, GRE pipes and fittings have observed a take-off due to increasing oil & gas projects and the need for sustainable pipes for oil & gas transportation. This surge was observed across regions with rampant oil & gas projects, especially in GCC countries and the United States.

The first quarter of 2022 observed a rampant shift in the trade curves of glass reinforced epoxy pipes in Europe on the back of huge sanctions imposed on Russia, thus cascading the effect to reducing Europe’s dependency on Russia’s oil supply. Furthermore, sudden seizure of existing and speculated projects has sealed the demand growth for GRE pipes in the region.

Over the forecast period, i.e., 2022-2032, glass reinforced epoxy pipe demand is anticipated to grow in three phases, i.e., short-run, medium-run, and long-run, as mentioned below.

Short-run (2022 Q2 to 2025): Over this period, demand is anticipated to grow at a much faster pace in the Middle East and Africa on the back of rising oil & gas and water treatment projects.

East Asia is also anticipated to pick up pace over this period on the back of discounted hoarding of oil & gas coupled with speculations of long-term contracts over the supply of crude. On the other side of the coin, Europe is anticipated to face a huge slump in the growth of GRE pipe demand.

Medium-run (2025-2028): Over the medium-term, GRE pipe integration is anticipated to be observed to rise in water treatment and chemical industries on the back of plant debottlenecking and cost optimization.

Long-run (2028-2032): This period is anticipated to observe moderate to slow growth owing to saturation of demand for GRE piping systems.

Above image provides an outlook of the cross matrix analysis where the market share of regions, application, and diameter have been provided in a nutshell. Of the GRE pipe applications, oil fields dominate the demand pie of GRE pipes by with more than 70% market share as of 2022.

Why is Europe Losing Ground in the GRE Pipes & Fittings Market?

GRE pipes have remained an integral part supporting thriving oil & gas pipeline projects, such as Nordstream and Gazprom to Europe from Russia. This has provided a major thrust to demand over the past half-decade and increased at 2% CAGR and generated an absolute dollar opportunity of US$ 30 Mn over the same period.

The picture is anticipated to change over the short-run forecast period due to the abandoning of existing pipeline and closing the books of speculative future projects with Russia. This factor is projected to provide a major slump of 12% over the period of 2022-2025, in Europe.

Country-wise Analysis

What Makes GCC Countries the Growth Driver for Glass Reinforced Epoxy Pipe Consumption?

GCC countries have been constantly looking out for avenues to reduce dependency and scarcity on water. This has helped nations to strategize and pump billions of dollars focussing on regional water security and sustainability, bolstering demand for GRE pipes for water and wastewater treatment in the region.

Apart from water and wastewater treatment applications, GRE pipes have observed strong integration in oil field applications such as oil & gas transmission, brine transmission, and desalination, among others.

These factors collectively have assisted the glass reinforced epoxy pipes market to expand at 7.4% CAGR and generate more than US$ 100 Mn as absolute dollar opportunity over 2017-2021.

Category-Wise Analysis

Why is the Oil & Gas Sector Anticipated to Remain the Backbone of the GRE Pipes Market?

Oil & gas has remained the backbone of glass reinforced epoxy pipe demand growth over the past half-decade. This integration and dependency of GRE pipes for various applications such as brine transmission and desalination, oil & gas transmission, and offshore cooling water & drainage is due to lower pipe maintenance cost and optimum output, coupled with lower loss of pressure. These factors have collectively driven demand for GRE pipes in oil field applications at a CAGR of 4% over the period of 2017-2021.

Additionally, the current outlook on the replacement of existing steel pipes with GRE pipes, as the former need extensive coating and periodical maintenance, impacts the cost coupled with lower output. This has pushed manufacturers of GRE pipes to look into avenues that can bolster the integration of these pipes in the oil & gas industry.

Furthermore, surge in oil & gas prices across the globe on the back of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is pushing oil & gas suppliers to maintain the price points at the cost of margins. This impact is anticipated to drive oil giants to look into the bottlenecks of oil supply and capital utilization, paving the way for the integration of GRE pipes.

This factor is anticipated to provide a push to the market for glass reinforced epoxy pipes at a CAGR of 5.4% over the forecast period.

How are Water Treatment Projects Anticipated to Act as a Workhorse for GRE Pipe Suppliers?

Water and wastewater treatment has become a prime cause of concern across regions on the back of rise in awareness about water security, thus enhancing government spending on water and wastewater treatment projects, cascading the effect to GRE pipe demand growth in water treatment applications at a CAGR of 6.2% over 2017-2021.

Over the forecast period, rise in the integration of GRE pipes coupled with increase in water treatment projects will provide an absolute dollar opportunity of US$ 169 Mn.

Competition Landscape

Key manufacturers of glass reinforced epoxy pipes are Advancedpiping, Amerplastics, Future Pipe Industry, GRE Composites, Hengrun Group Co., Ltd, Kemrock Industry, Lianyungang Zhongfu Lianzhong Composites Group Co. Ltd, National Oilwell Varco, NOV Fiber Glass Systems, Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co., Shawcor Ltd., Smithlinecomposites, and Tamdidpipes.

GRE pipe suppliers are constantly inclining towards cost optimization and analysing the responses of consumers in oil & gas and water treatment for positioning themselves on the strong parts of the technological curve.

Moreover, rising investments in R&D for the development of high-pressure and temperature-resilient GRE pipes can be observed as a key trend among tier-1 glass reinforced epoxy pipe manufacturers.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the price points of top GRE pipe manufacturers positioned across regions, in addition to providing sales growth information, production capacity, and speculative production expansion, in the recently published report.

Key Segments of GRE Pipes Industry Survey

• GRE Pipes Market by Pressure (Barg):

  • 10-20 GRE Pipes
  • 20-30 GRE Pipes
  • 30-40 GRE Pipes
  • 40-50 GRE Pipes
  • >50 GRE Pipes

• GRE Pipes Market by Diameter (mm):

  • 25-100 GRE Pipes
  • 100-250 GRE Pipes
  • 250-500 GRE Pipes
  • 500-750 GRE Pipes
  • 750-1000 GRE Pipes
  • 1000-1200 GRE Pipes
  • >1200 GRE Pipes

• GRE Pipes Market by Application:

  • Oil Fields
    • Brine Transmission and Desalination
    • Oil & Gas Transmission
    • Offshore Cooling Water and Drainage
    • Fire Water/Fire Protection Pipes
    • Others
  • Chemical/Petrochemicals
    • Chemical Processing and Steam Condensate Return
    • Acid Transportation
    • Effluent Discharge Lines
  • Water Treatment and Sewage Services
    • Sewage and Sanitary Services
    • Seawater Transport Lines
    • Water and Wastewater Pipe Lines
    • Others
  • Mining Industry

• GRE Pipes Market by Region:

  • North America GRE Pipes Market
  • Latin America GRE Pipes Market
  • Europe GRE Pipes Market
  • East Asia GRE Pipes Market
  • South Asia & Oceania GRE Pipes Market
  • Middle East & Africa GRE Pipes Market