China to spearhead global phenol capacity additions through 2028

China is likely to register the highest phenol capacity additions globally by 2028, contributing about 67% of the total capacity additions from upcoming projects, according to GlobalData, the data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, Phenol Industry Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Active and Planned Plants to 2028, shows that China is likely to witness a phenol capacity addition of 1.74 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) during 2024 to 2028 from six planned projects.

Nivedita Roy, Oil and Gas Analyst at GlobalData, Comments: “Phenol, popularly known as carbolic acid, is a volatile crystalline compound widely used for the synthesis of various kinds of pharmaceutical drugs, phenolic resins, and plastic polymers. As China being one of the largest markets for plastics and epoxy resins, there is a need for increased production capacity in the country.”

In China, the highest capacity addition is expected from Hainan Huasheng New Material Technology Company Dongfang Phenol Plant and Rongsheng New Materials Taizhou Phenol Plant, with a capacity of 0.40mtpa each. Both are currently under construction and are anticipated to commence phenol production in 2026.

The other major capacity additions are from Shiyou Chemical Yangzhou Phenol Plant 2 and SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Zhangzhou Phenol Plant. Both are expected to come online in 2026 with a capacity of 0.28mtpa and 0.25mtpa, respectively.

Jilin Petrochemical Company Jilin Phenol Plant 2 and Qingdao Haiwan Chemical Qingdao Phenol Plant – with capacities of 0.22mtpa and 0.19mtpa, respectively – are the other plants that are anticipated to begin operations by 2025. They are being constructed in the Jilin and Shandong provinces, respectively.