FREMONT, CA: Technavio, a market research company, announces the outcome of a research report conducted titled the ‘Global Automation Solutions Market in the Shale Gas Industry 2016-2020’. The report foresees the revenues of shale gas industry to touch USD 683 millionby 2020.

The Technavio report gives an in-depth analysis of market growth in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. It also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments, including Distributed controller system, Supervisory control and data acquisition, Programmable logic controller and Manufacturing execution system.

According to Technavio Research, the largest occupant of the shale gas industry by types of automation solutions in 2015 is Distributed controller system (DCS) as it occupies 47.36% of the Global automation solutions market. Followed by Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) at 30.27%, Programmable logic controller (PLC) at 16.54% and Manufacturing execution system (MES) at 5.83%.

Distributed Controller System (DCS)

The global distributed controller system solutions market occupies the largest segment in the shale gas industry as it was valued at USD 307.2 million in 2015. DCS consists of hardware, software and services.

A DCS is an automated control system in which each component or sub-system of a manufacturing plant iscontrolled by one or more controllers to provide instructions to individual components of a plant. The DCS system is distributed across organizations and is not centralized.

Advanced production technologies such as Hydraulic fracturing/fracking and horizontal drilling, have increased shale gas production considerably in North America. The DCS solutions enhance productivity and deliver quality products by improving overall productivity and streamlining upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.

The Global Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)

The global supervisory control and data acquisition solutions market occupies the second largest segment in the shale gas industry. It was valued at USD 196.4 million in 2015. SCADA consists of software and service.

SCADA is used to control and monitor upstream, midstream, and downstream operations by taking inputs from multiple systems and then gains access from one centralized system to control the operations from a remote location. SCADA collects data from various processes, and transmits the data in real time to the controller located in a remote location.

 Global Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)

The global programmable logic controller solutions market in the shale gas industry was valued at USD 107.3 million in 2015. It occupies the third largest segment in the shale gas industry. The PLC solution in the shale gas industry consists of hardware, software, and services.

PLC is an automated control product that regulates and monitors all the different automation and mechanical processes in industries by maintaining connections with field devices, such as sensors, actuators, and transmitters. The demand for PLC solutions in the shale gas industry is driven by the increase in exploration and drilling of wells, and production and transportation of shale gas.

 “Exploration and production are key activities in the shale gas industry that demand continuous maintenance and well integrity to ensure safety of employees, oil and gas equipment, and the natural environment. For instance, automation solutions, such as SCADA systems, enable the shale gas industry to share real-time information about well site conditions with the decision-makers. The data collected from PLC by SCADA allows companies to simultaneously monitor, visualize, and analyze oilfield operations,” says Bharath Kanniappan, one of Technavio’s lead analysts for automation research.