Refining Industry in Asia-Pacific Set to Flourish

Increasing demand for refined petroleum products, especially in fast growing countries such as China and India, will grow the Asia-Pacific’s share in the global refining market, according to a new report by business intelligence expert GlobalData (UK).

The new report predicts that China will continue to dominate refining capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, with future planned refineries promising to add capacity in the region, and displaying optimism for the refining market’s future.

China and India were amongst the top markets for refining in Asia-Pacific during 2011, with national oil companies having played a key role in the two countries’ refining markets. China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation and Petrochina Company Ltd., both Chinese government companies, together accounted for around 89.2% of the total refining capacity of the country during 2011, while in India, government companies such as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. accounted for more than 50% of the country’s refining capacity in the same year.

Asia-Pacific will witness the addition of a further 21 new refineries during 2012-2016, accounting for approximately one third of all refinery capacity additions planned across the world. China and India will lead the refinery capacity additions in the region during the period, with China scheduled to add seven new refineries by 2016, while India will add three. Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia and Pakistan will also add two refineries each.

The total refining capacity of China in 2011 was 459.8 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa), which accounted for approximately 31.4% of the region’s total refining capacity. China will continue to be the largest refining market in Asia-Pacific until 2016, during which time the country will add 122.4 MMtpa of refining capacity.

The refining capacity of Asia-Pacific is expected to witness an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 3.4% during the period 2011-2016, with the region’s refining capacity increasing from 1,464.7 MMtpa in 2011 to 1,738.3 MMtpa in 2016. The share of the region’s refining capacity in the global refining capacity was recorded as 31.4% in 2011, and is anticipated to increase slightly to 31.7% by 2016.