Global Refining Capacity & Utilization
Global Refinery Capacity (千桶/天, thousand barrels/day)
Top Countries by Capacity (2024)
| Rank |
Country/Region |
2024 Capacity (kb/d) |
2023 |
2022 |
Share 2024 (%) |
YoY Change |
| 1 |
China |
18,514 |
18,428 |
17,259 |
17.71 |
+0.5% |
| 2 |
United States |
18,416 |
18,429 |
18,061 |
17.62 |
-0.1% |
| 3 |
Russia |
6,781 |
6,781 |
6,781 |
6.49 |
0.0% |
| 4 |
India |
5,172 |
5,085 |
5,045 |
4.95 |
+1.7% |
| 5 |
Saudi Arabia |
3,289 |
3,289 |
3,224 |
3.15 |
0.0% |
| 6 |
Korea |
3,363 |
3,363 |
3,363 |
3.22 |
0.0% |
| 7 |
Japan |
2,955 |
3,069 |
3,164 |
2.83 |
-3.7% |
| 8 |
Iran |
2,460 |
2,454 |
2,430 |
2.35 |
+0.2% |
| 9 |
Brazil |
2,290 |
2,290 |
2,304 |
2.19 |
0.0% |
| 10 |
Germany |
2,076 |
2,076 |
2,121 |
1.99 |
0.0% |
By Region (2024)
| Region |
2024 Capacity (kb/d) |
Share (%) |
| World Total |
104,523 |
100.0 |
| OECD |
43,536 |
41.7 |
| Non-OECD |
60,987 |
58.3 |
| North America |
21,928 |
21.0 |
| Central & South America |
6,294 |
6.0 |
| Europe & Eurasia |
~23,500 |
~22.5 |
| Middle East |
11,719 |
11.2 |
| Africa |
3,486 |
3.3 |
| Asia-Pacific |
37,690 |
36.1 |
| EU |
12,185 |
11.7 |
Key European Capacities (2024, kb/d)
| Country |
Capacity |
| Germany |
2,076 |
| Italy |
1,803 |
| Spain |
1,591 |
| France |
1,145 |
| Netherlands |
1,241 |
| UK |
~1,000 |
| Belgium |
645 |
| Greece |
528 |
| Sweden |
454 |
| Turkey |
822 |
| Norway |
226 |
Refinery Utilization Rates (%, Monthly)
US Utilization Rate (Jan 2025 - Jan 2026)
| Month |
US (%) |
Seasonal Context |
| 2026-01 |
92.52 |
Winter |
| 2025-12 |
94.67 |
Winter |
| 2025-11 |
93.40 |
Autumn |
| 2025-10 |
88.10 |
Autumn maintenance |
| 2025-09 |
93.20 |
Post-summer |
| 2025-08 |
95.40 |
Peak summer driving |
| 2025-07 |
94.38 |
Summer driving |
| 2025-06 |
95.60 |
Summer driving |
| 2025-05 |
94.30 |
Pre-summer |
| 2025-04 |
90.80 |
Spring maintenance |
| 2025-03 |
87.06 |
Spring maintenance |
| 2025-02 |
85.58 |
Winter/maintenance |
| 2025-01 |
88.91 |
Winter |
US utilization seasonal pattern: Feb-Mar trough (85-87%), June-Aug peak (94-96%), Oct dip (88%)
European Utilization Comparison (2026-01)
| Country |
Utilization (%) |
Status |
| Germany |
102.15 |
Above nameplate |
| France |
88.59 |
Normal |
| UK |
85.25 |
Below average |
| Europe 16 avg |
86.01 |
Normal |
| Italy |
71.55 |
Structurally weak |
China Supply-Demand Balance (2025 Full Year)
Crude Oil Balance (万吨)
| Metric |
2025 Full Year |
Dec 2025 |
| Crude imports |
57,820.45 |
5,597.26 |
| Crude exports |
428.00 |
7.95 |
| Net crude imports |
57,392.47 |
5,589.31 |
| Apparent consumption |
78,997.17 |
7,368.81 |
| Domestic production |
~21,605 |
~1,780 |
| Import dependency |
73.19% |
75.96% |
| Self-sufficiency |
27.35% |
24.15% |
Refined Product Balance (万吨, 2025 Full Year)
| Product |
Apparent Consumption |
Net Imports |
Self-Sufficiency (%) |
| Gasoline |
14,660.24 |
-802.36 (net export) |
105.47 |
| Diesel |
19,316.68 |
-642.72 (net export) |
103.33 |
| Kerosene (jet) |
3,753.70 |
-2,140.00 (net export) |
157.01 |
| Fuel oil |
4,192.80 |
0.00 |
100.00 |
| Products total |
37,671.13 |
-3,644.57 (net export) |
109.67 |
Global Oil Consumption (千桶/天, thousand barrels/day)
| Year |
World |
OECD |
Non-OECD |
US |
EU |
OECD Share (%) |
| 2024 |
101,418 |
44,760 |
56,658 |
18,995 |
10,661 |
44.1 |
| 2023 |
100,694 |
44,708 |
55,986 |
19,014 |
10,590 |
44.4 |
| 2022 |
98,297 |
44,890 |
53,407 |
18,862 |
10,841 |
45.7 |
| 2021 |
95,314 |
43,908 |
51,406 |
18,785 |
10,518 |
46.1 |
Trend: Non-OECD share growing from 53.9% (2021) to 55.9% (2024). OECD consumption essentially flat.
International Crude Oil Spot Prices (USD/barrel, Annual Average)
| Year |
Dubai |
Brent |
WTI |
Brent-WTI Spread |
| 2024 |
79.61 |
80.76 |
75.87 |
+4.89 |
| 2023 |
82.09 |
82.64 |
78.88 |
+3.76 |
| 2022 |
96.38 |
101.32 |
94.58 |
+6.74 |
| 2021 |
68.91 |
70.91 |
68.10 |
+2.81 |
| 2020 |
42.41 |
41.84 |
39.25 |
+2.59 |
| 2019 |
63.71 |
64.21 |
57.03 |
+7.18 |
OPEC Member Refining Capacity (千桶/天, 2020)
| Country |
Total |
Distillation |
Catalytic Cracking |
Hydrocracking |
| OPEC Total |
11,931 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Saudi Arabia |
2,201 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Iran |
399 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Iraq |
242 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| UAE |
245 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Nigeria |
375 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Venezuela |
1,303 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Major Chinese Oil Companies - Production Data
Sinopec (FY2025)
| Metric |
Value |
Unit |
| Total oil & gas production |
525.28 |
million boe |
| Crude oil production |
250.87 |
million bbl |
| - Domestic |
227.29 |
million bbl |
| - Overseas |
23.58 |
million bbl |
| Natural gas production |
1,140.56 |
bcf |
| Refined products output |
148.96 |
million tonnes |
| - Gasoline |
62.61 |
million tonnes |
| Crude reserve replacement ratio |
90.83 |
% |
| Gas reserve replacement ratio |
113.94 |
% |
PetroChina (FY2024)
| Metric |
Value |
Unit |
| Total production (FY2024) |
1,797.4 |
million boe |
| Crude production (FY2024) |
941.8 |
million bbl |
| Proved crude reserves |
6,183 |
million bbl |
| Proved gas reserves |
72,814.1 |
bcf |
CNOOC (FY2024)
| Metric |
Value |
Unit |
| Daily net production: liquid |
1,520,405 |
bbl/day |
| - China |
1,028,497 |
bbl/day |
| - Bohai |
615,527 |
bbl/day |
| - South China Sea |
405,517 |
bbl/day |
| - Overseas |
491,907 |
bbl/day |
Investment-Critical Observations
-
China has overtaken the US as the world's largest refining capacity holder (18,514 vs 18,416 kb/d as of 2024). This shifts the global refining center of gravity firmly to Asia.
-
China's crude import dependency continues to rise -- reaching 75.96% in December 2025, up from 72.60% just three months earlier (September). This is a structural energy security risk.
-
China is a substantial net exporter of refined products with a self-sufficiency ratio of 109.67%. The kerosene (jet fuel) surplus is particularly large at 2,140 万吨 net exports, suggesting excess cracking capacity.
-
Global consumption at 101.4 million bbl/day (2024) has now exceeded the pre-COVID 2019 level of 98.9 million bbl/day by 2.5%. Non-OECD demand is the growth driver.
-
Japan's refining capacity is declining structurally (-6.6% from 2022 to 2024), reflecting an aging economy and fuel efficiency gains. This creates opportunities for Asian product exports.
-
US refinery utilization shows clear seasonality: 85-87% in Feb-Mar (maintenance), peaking at 95-96% in summer. This seasonal pattern is critical for timing product trading strategies.
-
Brent-WTI spread has narrowed from $7.18 (2019) to $4.89 (2024), reflecting US infrastructure buildout and export capacity. This affects arbitrage economics for both crude and product flows.
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