Overview of the global petrochemical industry

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics provides an overview of the global petrochemical industry, highlighting its growing contribution to oil and gas demand and greenhouse gas emissions. It details the specific impacts of nitrogen fertilisers and plastics, the rapid expansion of production capacity—particularly in China—and the limitations of current recycling and substitution strategies in mitigating climate and health risks.

• The petrochemical industry is a significant and growing source of global greenhouse gas emissions, with chemicals and petrochemicals accounting for 6.1% of global emissions by end use. Nitrogen fertilisers are a major contributor, representing approximately 30% of the industry's emissions and producing nitrous oxide, a gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Plastics constitute 63% of global petrochemical output by weight (excluding fertiliser) as of 2018, with packaging being the largest sector at 36%. Demand is forecast to increase significantly by 2050, with total production and demand estimated to be between two and 3.5 times recent levels, driven largely by China and developing Asia.
• Petrochemicals are increasingly dominating oil demand. Oil demand for petrochemical feedstocks is expected to account for 40% of total oil demand growth from 2022 to 2028. By 2050, petrochemicals' share of the global oil market is projected to rise to nearly 20%, and in the IEA's Net Zero Emissions scenario, they would account for 70% of oil demand in 2050.
• China is experiencing unprecedented growth in petrochemical capacity. Between 2019 and 2024, China is set to add more production capacity for ethylene and propylene than currently exists in Europe, Japan, and Korea combined. This growth has significantly impacted global oil consumption; without China's petrochemical demand, total global oil consumption would remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
• Current efforts to mitigate plastic impacts through recycling and substitution face significant hurdles. Only 9% of plastics are recycled globally, partly because virgin plastics are often cheaper than recycled ones (e.g., in the US, virgin HDPE was USD 943 vs recycled HDPE at USD 1,631 per tonne between 2021 and 2023). Additionally, substitutions like bioplastics could require 54% of current global corn production and 60% more freshwater than the EU's current use.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). Overview of the global petrochemical industry. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/overview-of-the-global-petrochemical-industry/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Overview of the global petrochemical industry. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/overview-of-the-global-petrochemical-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Overview of the global petrochemical industry |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=13 May 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/overview-of-the-global-petrochemical-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024overview, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Overview of the global petrochemical industry}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/overview-of-the-global-petrochemical-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }