Propylene oxide: Production
How China came to hold most of world capacity
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 16 Mt/yr globally (indicative); China about 9.3 Mt/yr end-2025 | Mysteel Jun 2025 (China); global indicative | |
| World output | about 12 Mt (2025, indicative) | derived | |
| Capacity utilisation | about 70-75% globally (indicative); Chinese rates fell with 2025 additions | Chinese producers made selective output cuts during weak demand in 2025 (Alchempro). | Alchempro Nov 2025; indicative |
| Concentration | China about 58% of capacity (Mysteel 2025 / indicative global total) | Outside China, LyondellBasell, Dow and Shell are the largest; in China Wanhua, Sinopec, Zhenhai Refining (Sinopec), Jiahua and Hongbaoli (indicative). | indicative |
| New capacity | China: 1.54 Mt/yr across 8 units from June 2025; South China +1.6 Mt/yr in 2026-2028 | South China has about 1.06 Mt/yr now and is China's third-largest PO region after Shandong and East China (Mysteel, Dec 2025). New capacity arrived again in Q4 2026 (Mysteel, Jul 2026). | Mysteel Jun 2025, Dec 2025, Jul 2026 |
Top producing countries
China 58% · about 9.3 Mt/yr (end-2025) United States 13% · about 2.1 Mt/yr (indicative) Western Europe 13% · about 2.1 Mt/yr (indicative) South Korea 4% · about 0.6 Mt/yr (indicative) Japan 3% · about 0.5 Mt/yr (indicative) Saudi Arabia 3% · about 0.5 Mt/yr (indicative) Mysteel, Jun 2025; indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LyondellBasell largest Western producer; PO/SM and PO/TBA (indicative) | US/Netherlands | not published | 2025 | LyondellBasell |
| Dow chlorohydrin and HPPO (with BASF at Antwerp) | US | not published | 2025 | Dow |
| Wanhua Chemical PO/SM and integrated polyols (not published) | China | not published | 2025 | Wanhua |
| Sinopec HPPO and PO/SM units (not published) | China | not published | 2025 | Sinopec |
| Shell PO/SM in Netherlands and Singapore | UK/Netherlands | not published | 2025 | Shell |
| Sumitomo Chemical CHP process licensor | Japan | not published | 2025 | Sumitomo Chemical |
| Evonik / thyssenkrupp Uhde HPPO technology | Germany | not published | 2025 | company |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manali Petrochemicals India's only PO producer (chlorohydrin route, indicative); polyols about 50 kt/yr (McKinsey) | India | not published | 2025 | Manali Petrochemicals |
India has one small PO producer, Manali Petrochemicals in Chennai (indicative). Polyol and propylene glycol demand is met largely by imports from China, Southeast Asia, Saudi Arabia and Korea (indicative). No world-scale Indian PO project was confirmed in sources reviewed.
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | PO/TBA and PO/SM economics tied to MTBE and styrene co-product values (indicative). |
| EU | High cost; some chlorohydrin closures; HPPO at Antwerp competitive (indicative). |
| India | Nearly fully import-dependent for PO derivatives; polyols and PG imported. |
| China | About 58% of capacity, now a net exporter of PO derivatives (indicative); prices hit annual highs in January 2026 on tight supply (Mysteel headline). |
| Japan | Sumitomo CHP; small domestic market. |
| Middle East | Sadara (Dow-Aramco) HPPO and Petro Rabigh CHP; exports polyols. |