PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1929088
PUBLISHER: The Business Research Company | PRODUCT CODE: 1929088
Oil and gas drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are specifically designed and utilized within the oil and gas industry. These drones are employed to inspect pipelines for leaks, corrosion, and other structural issues, thereby reducing the need for manual inspections, which can be time-consuming and hazardous. They are also useful for monitoring oil and gas facilities, such as refineries and drilling rigs, for security purposes and to detect any operational irregularities.
The main types of oil and gas drones include single rotor, multi-rotor, fixed-wing, and hybrid and nano drones. Single rotor drones feature a single large rotor, typically positioned vertically, which provides lift and propulsion. These drones are utilized for various applications including inspection, security and emergency response, and surveying and mapping, and find applications across various industries such as construction, agriculture, mining, oil and gas, and others.
Tariffs have affected the oil and gas drones market by increasing the cost of imported drone hardware, sensors, and imaging components. These impacts are most evident in advanced inspection and surveillance drones, particularly in asia pacific and north america. Higher tariffs have raised capital costs for service providers and operators. Maintenance and spare part availability has also been impacted due to cross border sourcing. However, tariffs are encouraging local drone manufacturing and regional assembly capabilities for industrial applications.
The oil and gas drones market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides oil and gas drones market statistics, including oil and gas drones industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a oil and gas drones market share, detailed oil and gas drones market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the oil and gas drones industry. This oil and gas drones market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.
The oil and gas drones market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $12.61 billion in 2025 to $17 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to need for safer inspection methods, expansion of pipeline networks, growth in offshore assets, increasing maintenance costs, demand for operational efficiency.
The oil and gas drones market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $56.34 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.9%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to automation of inspection activities, growth in digital oilfields, expansion of remote operations, stricter safety regulations, cost optimization initiatives. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing use of drones for pipeline inspection, rising adoption for remote facility monitoring, growth in drone based leak detection, expansion of aerial surveillance for asset security, rising demand for mapping and surveying operations.
The increase in government investment is expected to drive the growth of the oil and gas drones market going forward. Government investment refers to the allocation of public funds toward projects, initiatives, or sectors to achieve objectives such as economic development, infrastructure enhancement, technological innovation, and social welfare. In the oil and gas sector, government investment plays a vital role in accelerating the adoption of drone technologies by supporting innovation, encouraging industry collaboration, addressing regulatory challenges, and enabling the development of required infrastructure. For instance, in December 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, a UK-based government agency, the central government's net investment stood at £5.4 billion ($6.9 billion) in December 2023, which was £10.5 billion ($13.4 billion) higher than the negative £5.1 billion ($6.5 billion) recorded in December 2022. Therefore, the increase in government investment is driving the growth of the oil and gas drones market.
Key players in the oil and gas drones market are concentrating on developing innovative solutions, such as integrated drone solutions, to enhance their market profitability. Integrated drone solutions are driving innovation and transformation in the oil and gas industry by enabling companies to leverage advanced aerial technologies for improved efficiency, safety, and decision-making capabilities. For instance, in March 2023, Asteria Aerospace, an India-based drone technology company, introduced SkyDeck, an end-to-end drone operations platform designed to streamline drone operations across multiple industries, including oil and gas. This cloud-based software offers various services, including fleet management, flight scheduling, data processing, and visualization, all of which significantly influence the utilization of drones in the oil and gas sector, enhancing safety, efficiency, and decision-making processes related to drone operations.
In May 2023, XTEND, a US-based autonomous drone startup, acquired Performance Rotors, a Singapore-based company specializing in creating compact and intelligent aerial drone solutions tailored for use in hazardous and constrained spaces, including the oil and gas industry. The acquisition is expected to bolster XTEND's capacity to provide human-guided, remote interactive operations in various inspection scenarios, including those related to public safety, security, and civil markets.
Major companies operating in the oil and gas drones market are The Boeing Company, GE Aviation, BAE Systems plc, Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., DJI Enterprise, AeroVironment Inc., Yuneec International, Skydio Inc., XAG Co. Ltd., senseFly SA, Microdrones GmbH, Flyability SA, Quantum-Systems GmbH, Shenzhen Autel Robotics Co. Ltd., PrecisionHawk Inc., Teal Drones Inc., Ascending Technologies Inc., Freefly Systems Inc., Aeryon Labs Inc., Vantage Robotics Inc., Garuda Robotics Private Limited, Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., Volansi Inc
North America was the largest region in the oil and gas drones market in 2025. The regions covered in the oil and gas drones market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.
The countries covered in the oil and gas drones market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain
The oil and gas drones market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as data analysis, monitoring, surveillance, and pipeline monitoring and maintenance. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The oil and gas drones market also includes sales of landing (VTOL) drones, tethered drones, and hydrogen fuel cell drones. Values in this market are 'factory gate' values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.
The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).
The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.
Oil And Gas Drones Market Global Report 2026 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.
This report focuses oil and gas drones market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.
Where is the largest and fastest growing market for oil and gas drones ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The oil and gas drones market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.
The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, total addressable market (TAM), market attractiveness score (MAS), competitive landscape, market shares, company scoring matrix, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.
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