Refining capacity, actual throughput, and the utilisation rate between them, across 74 countries from 1980 to 2025.
Source: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy. Capacity is atmospheric distillation capacity at year end on a calendar-day basis. Utilisation can exceed 100% because refineries routinely operate above nameplate capacity. Coverage is limited to the countries the Energy Institute surveys; a value of zero means a country reported no operating refining capacity, which is different from being absent from the data.
Capacity is what a country’s refineries could process — atmospheric distillation capacity measured at year end on a calendar-day basis.
Throughput is what they actually processed.
Utilisation is the second divided by the first, and it is the most revealing of the three. A country can hold substantial capacity and run it at 60%, which tells you about economics, maintenance, sanctions or demand rather than about infrastructure.
Utilisation above 100% is not an error. Refineries routinely operate above their nameplate rating, and Indian refiners in particular have run consistently above 100% for years. Nameplate capacity is a design specification, not a physical ceiling.
Crude oil is not a usable fuel. Refining is what turns it into diesel, petrol, jet fuel and petrochemical feedstock, and a country’s refining capacity determines whether it can meet its own fuel demand or must import refined products at a premium.
This creates positions that oil production figures alone do not reveal. A country can produce substantial crude and still import fuel, because it lacks the capacity to process what it extracts. Nigeria was the standing example for decades. Equally, a country with no oil at all can hold large refining capacity and export products — Singapore and the Netherlands both do.
Morocco is the case closest to home. Its national refinery at Mohammedia ceased operating in 2015, and the country has reported no refining capacity since. Every litre of refined fuel consumed in Morocco is imported. For a country with substantial renewable ambitions, that dependence is a live strategic question rather than a historical footnote.
Zero is not the same as absent. A country showing zero capacity reported no operating refineries. A country shown in grey is not surveyed. The distinction matters, and this map preserves it.
Capacity is not the number of refineries. Plant counts are tracked commercially and are not published in any free global dataset. One large refinery can exceed the capacity of six small ones, and capacity is the measure energy research uses.
The centre of gravity has moved. Use the year buttons. Capacity has plateaued globally at around 100 million barrels a day while shifting substantially from Europe and North America toward Asia and the Middle East.
Utilisation reflects circumstance, not just capability. Low figures can indicate sanctions, conflict, ageing plant, weak domestic demand, or scheduled maintenance. The number alone does not distinguish between them.
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Data from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy.