Asia continues to drive global refinery Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) capacity additions by 2025

Asia is expected to witness the highest crude distillation unit (CDU) capacity additions globally, contributing about 48% of the total global CDU capacity additions by 2025, says GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics company. 

GlobalData’s report, ‘Global Capacity and Capital Expenditure Outlook for Refineries, 2021–2025 - China Leads Global Refinery CDU Capacity Additions’, reveals that Asia is likely to witness a total CDU capacity additions of 5.4 million barrels per day (mmbd) by 2025. Of this, new build capacity would be 3.2 mmbd while the rest is from expansion of existing refineries. 

Soorya Tejomoortula, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “China and India primarily drive refinery CDU capacity additions in Asia by 2025. Jieyang and Yulong, both in China, are the largest upcoming new build projects in Asia during 2021 to 2025 outlook period, each with a capacity of 400 thousand barrels per day (mbd). Among the expansion projects, Vadinar in India is expected to witness the highest capacity additions of 515 mbd by 2025 in the region.” 

GlobalData identifies the Middle East as the second highest contributor to the global CDU capacity additions accounting for about 21% of the total additions by 2025. Al-Zour in Kuwait drives the new build CDU capacity additions in the region with 615 mbd by 2025. Isfahan in Iran and Sitra in Bahrain drive the expansion capacity additions with 120 mbd and 113 mbd, respectively. 

Africa ranks third globally contributing about 18% of world’s CDU capacity additions during the outlook period 2021–2025. New build projects contribute to almost entire capacity additions in the region with Lagos I refinery in Nigeria leading the way with a capacity of 650 mbd by 2022. The only expansion project in the region is in the Alexandria refinery in Egypt. The expansion project is expected to start operations in 2023 with a capacity of 45 mbd.