WELDING INNOVATION HELPS MEET INCREASED STORAGE TANK DEMAND

Saskia Huber looks at the drivers for storage tank demand and how Linde’s advanced PAW welding technology can helpthe global storage tank market, valued at US$12.56 billion (€10.49 billion) in 2019, is set to grow at a rate of 3.85% per year to US$16.87 billion by 20271. This increase is being driven largely by rapid population growth, urbanisation and the ever-greater demands for energy and water. THE OIL AND GAS STORAGE TANK LANDSCAPE The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the daily demand for crude oil worldwide grew from 96.2 million bbl in 2016 to around 100.6 million bbl in 2019. Likewise, global natural gas production increased 3.3% in 2019 from the previous year, with 4,088 billion m3 generated1. Continuously rising energy demand, together with other factors like increasing natural gas production, fluctuating prices of oil, and soaring government expenditure in oil and gas projects are positively impacting global oil storage market dynamics. According to analysts, the global worldwide oil storage market was valued at US$3.6 billion in 2019 and is forecast to grow at a rate of over 4.4% between 2020 and 20272. There are several drivers fostering this...