Butadiene: Production
How China is heading for butadiene self-sufficiency
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | about 20.3 Mt/yr in 2025 | S&P Global, Sep 2025 | |
| World output | about 15 Mt in 2025 (indicative: capacity x about 75%) | derived | |
| Capacity utilisation | not published globally; indicative about 70-80% | Extraction units run with the cracker, so utilisation follows ethylene runs. European cracker closures (four in 2025) cut supply. | S&P Global Dec 2025; indicative |
| Concentration | China about 36%; top 3 countries about 56% (indicative) | Major producers include Sinopec, PetroChina, LyondellBasell, TPC Group, BASF, LG Chem, Lotte and SABIC. | Mysteel 2025; indicative |
| New capacity | China added 1.05 Mt/yr planned units in 2025 and about 0.62 Mt/yr in 2026 | Mysteel headlines report 560 kt/yr of new Chinese capacity in H2 2026. China moves from deficit to surplus by about 2035 (S&P Global), and self-sufficiency around 2030. INEOS Antwerp's ethane cracker (2026) adds almost no butadiene. | Mysteel Sep 2025 and 2026 headlines; S&P Global Sep and Dec 2025 |
Top producing countries
China 36% · 7.58 Mt/yr capacity (end-2025) United States 12% · about 2.4 Mt/yr (indicative) South Korea 8% · about 1.6 Mt/yr (indicative) Japan 5% · about 1.0 Mt/yr (indicative) Germany and rest of Western Europe 10% · about 2 Mt/yr (indicative) India 3% · about 0.6-0.7 Mt/yr (indicative) Mysteel, Sep 2025; indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinopec largest producer (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | Sinopec |
| PetroChina not published | China | not published | 2025 | PetroChina |
| LyondellBasell not published | US/Netherlands | not published | 2025 | company |
| TPC Group largest US merchant C4 processor (indicative) | US | not published | 2025 | company |
| BASF Ludwigshafen and Antwerp; licensor of NMP extraction | Germany | not published | 2025 | BASF |
| LG Chem not published | South Korea | not published | 2025 | LG Chem |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Industries largest; feeds own SBR/PBR (Hazira, Jamnagar); not published | India | not published | 2025 | Reliance |
| Indian Oil Corporation Panipat; feeds Indian Synthetic Rubber JV (120 kt/yr ESBR, McKinsey) | India | not published | 2025 | IOCL |
| Haldia Petrochemicals not published | India | not published | 2025 | HPL |
| ONGC Petro additions (OPaL) not published | India | not published | 2025 | OPaL |
India's butadiene comes from Reliance, IOCL, HPL and OPaL crackers (capacities not published); domestic demand from tyres is forecast to grow about 5% a year in 2025-2029 (S&P Global 2025). India is roughly balanced to slightly short; imports and exports vary with cracker runs (indicative).
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Ethane cracking makes the US structurally short of C4; still exports when demand is weak. US monthly contract fell 19.75 c/lb over 2025 (S&P Global). |
| EU | Four steam crackers closed in 2025 and Dow Böhlen and TotalEnergies Antwerp crackers close by Q4 2027 (S&P Global), cutting butadiene supply but demand is also flat. |
| India | Growing tyre industry; demand about 5% a year (S&P Global). |
| China | 36% of capacity; imports rose 39% to 429 kt in Jan-Oct 2025 as derivatives grew (S&P Global). |
| Japan | Naphtha crackers consolidating; exports to China. |
| Middle East | Mostly ethane-based, so limited butadiene; SABIC and Sadara run some C4 extraction. |