# Butadiene: Production

How China is heading for butadiene self-sufficiency

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/production/

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; indicative

#### Largest producers: global

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Sinopec** largest producer (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | [Sinopec](http://www.sinopec.com/listco/en/) |
| **PetroChina** not published | China | not published | 2025 | [PetroChina](http://www.petrochina.com.cn) |
| **LyondellBasell** not published | US/Netherlands | not published | 2025 | [company](https://www.lyondellbasell.com) |
| **TPC Group** largest US merchant C4 processor (indicative) | US | not published | 2025 | [company](https://www.tpcgrp.com) |
| **BASF** Ludwigshafen and Antwerp; licensor of NMP extraction | Germany | not published | 2025 | [BASF](https://www.basf.com) |
| **LG Chem** not published | South Korea | not published | 2025 | [LG Chem](https://www.lgchem.com) |

#### Largest producers: India

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Reliance Industries** largest; feeds own SBR/PBR (Hazira, Jamnagar); not published | India | not published | 2025 | [Reliance](https://www.ril.com) |
| **Indian Oil Corporation** Panipat; feeds Indian Synthetic Rubber JV (120 kt/yr ESBR, McKinsey) | India | not published | 2025 | [IOCL](https://iocl.com) |
| **Haldia Petrochemicals** not published | India | not published | 2025 | [HPL](https://www.haldiapetrochemicals.com) |
| **ONGC Petro additions (OPaL)** not published | India | not published | 2025 | [OPaL](https://www.opalindia.in) |

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. |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/routes/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/links/index.md)