Global xylene capacity is poised to see considerable growth over the next five years, potentially increasing from 77.35mtpa in 2021 to 116.11mtpa in 2026, registering total growth of 50%.
GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Global Xylene Industry Outlook to 2026 Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Active and Planned Plants’, states that Asia leads with the largest capacity additions for the newbuild and expansion of the existing xylene projects by 2026.
Asia is expected to add a capacity of 32.50mtpa from 22 newbuild planned and announced projects. Whereas for the expansion projects, the region is expected to add a capacity of 0.76mtpa from four planned and announced projects.
In Asia, China leads with the largest capacity additions, with a capacity of 21.83mtpa from 13 planned and announced projects. The main capacity addition will be from a planned project, Zhejiang Petrochemical Daishan Xylene Plant 2, with a capacity of 4.80mtpa. It is expected to commence production of xylene in 2022.

The Middle East follows next and is expected to add a capacity of 5.25mtpa from seven planned projects. There are no expansion projects in the region. In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates leads with the largest capacity additions, with a capacity of 1.5mtpa from the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company Abu Dhabi Xylene Plant (GAP Project) announced project.