# Toluene: Production

A chemical whose output hides inside refineries

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/toluene/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** | not published as a stand-alone figure; extraction capacity is shared with benzene and xylenes |  | IMARC 2025 gives value only |
| **World output** | about 35 Mt (2025, indicative, derived) |  | derived from IMARC 2025 value |
| **Capacity utilisation** | not published | Tied to reformer and cracker run rates; Asian cracker rates fell 5-20 points in March 2026 (OPIS). | OPIS, Mar 2026 |
| **Concentration** | not published; Asia Pacific is the largest region | Production follows refinery and aromatics complex capacity, so the largest refiners dominate. | IMARC 2025 |
| **New capacity** | no dedicated toluene capacity; follows new aromatics complexes | New Chinese refinery-aromatics complexes and India's planned paraxylene expansions add toluene that is mostly converted in-house (indicative). | indicative |

#### Top producing countries

- **China**: largest producer and consumer (indicative)
- **United States**: large reformer base; not published
- **South Korea**: major exporter; not published
- **Japan**: not published
- **India**: 288,000 t capacity, 127,000 t output (2017, latest official series)
 IMARC 2025 (Asia Pacific largest region); indicative; DCPC via CEIC (2017)

#### Largest producers: global

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **ExxonMobil** named leading producer; volume not published | US | not published | 2025 | [IMARC 2025](https://www.imarcgroup.com/toluene-market-statistics) |
| **SK Global Chemical (SK Geo Centric)** not published | South Korea | not published | 2025 | [IMARC 2025](https://www.imarcgroup.com/toluene-market-statistics) |
| **BP** not published | UK | not published | 2025 | [IMARC 2025](https://www.imarcgroup.com/toluene-market-statistics) |
| **Versalis (Eni)** not published | Italy | not published | 2025 | [IMARC 2025](https://www.imarcgroup.com/toluene-market-statistics) |
| **Moeve (formerly Cepsa)** not published | Spain | not published | 2025 | [IMARC 2025](https://www.imarcgroup.com/toluene-market-statistics) |
| **Sinopec** largest Chinese refiner; not published | China | not published | 2025 | [indicative](http://www.sinopec.com) |

#### Largest producers: India

| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Reliance Industries** most toluene used captively in xylene conversion; not published | India | not published | 2025 | [indicative](https://www.ril.com) |
| **Indian Oil** not published | India | not published | 2025 | [indicative](https://iocl.com) |
| **Bharat Petroleum (Kochi)** not published | India | not published | 2025 | [indicative](https://www.bharatpetroleum.in) |

India had 288,000 t/yr of toluene capacity and produced 127,000 t in 2017 (DCPC via CEIC). Much refinery toluene is used captively for xylenes, so merchant solvent buyers in pharma, paints and agrochemicals import a large share (indicative).

#### Position by region

| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| **US** | Large reformer base; toluene often goes to gasoline when octane is strong. |
| **EU** | Germany, the UK and France are the leading consumers (IMARC 2025); solvent demand under VOC rules. |
| **India** | Net importer of solvent toluene; pharma and agrochemical users are price-takers on Asian markers (indicative). |
| **China** | Largest consumer; conversion to paraxylene in new megacomplexes. |
| **Japan** | Exporter of toluene to China and Southeast Asia (indicative). |
| **Middle East** | Small merchant volumes; exports exposed to Hormuz in 2026. |

## Other sections

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