Refinery Capacity Shifts East as Demand Growth Centers on Asia

摘要

With Asia the epicenter of global oil product demand growth going forward, it comes as little surprise that more than three-quarters of the 8 million barrels per day of new refining capacity coming on line over the next five years will rise up East of Suez. The Mideast and Asia are adding more than 6 million b/d through 2022, with six new megarefineries peppered across the Mideast, China and Malaysia accounting for more than 40% of that expanded capacity, according to US downstream consultancy Turner, Mason & Co. (JFI May14’18). Jet Fuel Intelligence expects the new 8 million b/d capacity starting up globally over that time will match growth in oil demand, with shuttered capacity at older plants and expansions at existing units effectively canceling each other out. But the new capacity will not come cheaply. Consultancy Industrial Info Resources estimates that China alone will fork out $28 billion for two refineries due by 2020, with global spending on new capacity hitting $127 billion just in the next two years.