Hydrocarbon Processing Refining Databook 2025: Asia-Pacific

A burgeoning middle class is boosting demand for refining capacity in Asia, with China leading the way and India also with many projects underway

Over the past 20 years, Asia-Pacific has been the epicentre of new refining capacity construction. Since 2004, the region’s total refining capacity has increased by nearly 15m b/d, to more than 37m b/d, according to the Energy Institute. Most of this surge in new refining capacity is from China which has increased refined product capacity from approximately 5m b/d in 2000 to more than 18m b/d in 2024. Asia’s stark rise in refined fuel consumption has been due to an exponential growth in the region’s economies. This growth has pushed large percentages of the population into higher socioeconomic classes. In turn, demand for various fuels and petrochemical products has surged to build new infra