China to spearhead global polyethylene capacity additions through 2028

China is likely to register the highest polyethylene capacity additions globally by 2028, contributing about 29% of the total capacity additions from 46 upcoming projects, says GlobalData, the data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, Polyethylene Industry Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Active and Planned Plants to 2028, shows that China is likely to witness polyethylene capacity additions of 16.34 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) during 2024-28 from 37 planned and nine announced projects.

Nivedita Roy, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, Comments: “Polyethylene is widely used in various sectors such as packaging, automotive, and construction due to its versatile properties such as lightweight, moisture resistance, affordability, and durability. The robust demand for polyethylene from these sectors in China is likely to further drive capacity additions.”

In China, the major capacity addition is expected from the planned project, SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Zhangzhou Polyethylene Plant 2, with a capacity of 0.60mtpa. SABIC Fujian Petrochemical owns a 100% stake in the plant and is also the operator. Currently, the plant is under construction in the state of Fuijan and is anticipated to commence production in 2026.

BASF Zhanjiang Polyethylene Plant and Exxon Mobil Corporation Huizhou Polyethylene Plant are the other significant contributors to China’s polyethylene production capacity additions. With a capacity of 0.50mtpa each, both facilities are being constructed in Guangdong and are anticipated to commence operations in 2025.