Despite worldwide economic doldrums, the global oilfield services industry is forecast to jump in value by a massive 40% in just five years, reveals a new report from business intelligence company GBI Research. Oilfield services firms provide the infrastructure, equipment, technology, and services needed for companies that explore and extract crude oil and natural gas.

“Oilfield services companies are a crucial component of the rapidly growing oil and gas industry,” Brad Edwards (KPMG LLP) tells BVWire. Edwards is a contributing author to BVR’s upcoming special report on the oil and gas industry.

Of the three segments that make up the oilfield services industry—exploration and evaluation, drilling, and completion and production—it is the latter that generates the most substantial income. GBI Research forecasts revenue for the completion and production services portion of the industry to climb from $105 billion in 2012 to $148 billion in 2017.