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Each card jumps to that country's flagship refinery and — where a full country profile exists — its dedicated page. Prefer to read start to finish? Scroll on.
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India
Dedicated project page →
Jamnagar — world's largest single-site refining complex (1.24M bbl/day) · plus India's other refineries listed below.
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Netherlands
Jump to Rotterdam
Rotterdam Refinery Complex — Europe's largest refining hub, ~1.2M bbl/day combined.
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UAE
Full country profile →
Ruwais — ADNOC's flagship refinery, adjacent to one of the world's largest polyethylene complexes.
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South Korea
Jump to Ulsan
Ulsan Complex — an entire industrial city built around SK Energy and S-Oil's refineries.
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Saudi Arabia
Full country profile →
Ras Tanura — the world's largest crude oil loading terminal by throughput.
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United States
Full country profile →
Port Arthur (Motiva) — the largest single US refinery, wholly owned by Saudi Aramco.
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Venezuela
Jump to Paraguaná
Paraguaná — once the world's #2 complex, now running at an estimated 20–30% of nameplate capacity.
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Iran
Jump to Abadan
Abadan — world's largest refinery from 1913–1950s, whose 1951 nationalisation triggered the 1953 CIA/MI6 coup.
Want India's complete refinery list? Jump to all 15 refineries, GPS-located ↓
World's largest refineries — by capacity
Top refineries globally — all GPS-located
Refinery capacity measured in barrels per day (bbl/day) of crude oil input. A barrel = 158.99 litres. A refinery converts crude into petrol, diesel, jet fuel, LPG, and other products. Sources: EIA, company annual reports, PPAC India.
| # | Refinery | GPS | Capacity (bbl/day) | Operator | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamnagar DTA + SEZ India Built ✓ | 22.47°N 69.87°E | 1,240,000 | Reliance Industries | India (Gujarat) | World's largest single-site refining complex. Two refineries side-by-side: DTA (Domestic Tariff Area, 660,000 bbl/day, commissioned 1999) and SEZ Export Refinery (580,000 bbl/day, commissioned 2008). Processes crude from Middle East, Africa, and Americas. Also feeds Reliance's petrochemical complex. The Gujarat coastline here is sometimes called India's "energy coast." |
| 2 | Rotterdam Refinery Complex | 51.90°N 4.30°E | ~1,200,000 | Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, various | Netherlands | Not one refinery but a cluster of refineries on Maasvlakte and Vondelingenplaat in the Port of Rotterdam — Europe's largest port and largest refining centre. Shell Pernis (51.88°N 4.37°E, 400,000 bbl/day) is the largest single unit. Total complex processes approximately 1.2 million bbl/day. Hub for North Sea crude, West African crude, and Middle East crude into European markets. |
| 3 | Ruwais Refinery | 24.11°N 52.73°E | 922,000 | ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Co) | UAE | Ruwais Industrial City, 240 km west of Abu Dhabi. Processes Abu Dhabi's Murban crude and Upper Zakum crude. Massive expansion 2014. Also includes BOROUGE petrochemical complex — one of the world's largest polyethylene producers. Adjacent Ruwais LNG terminal planned. |
| 4 | Ulsan Complex | 35.54°N 129.32°E | 840,000 | SK Energy + S-Oil | South Korea | Ulsan is South Korea's largest industrial city built around refining and petrochemicals. SK Energy (560,000 bbl/day) and S-Oil (580,000 bbl/day, with Saudi Aramco as major shareholder) both refine here. South Korea imports nearly 100% of its crude — predominantly from Saudi Arabia and UAE. |
| 5 | Ras Tanura | 26.65°N 50.16°E | 550,000 | Saudi Aramco | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia's main refinery and export terminal on the Arabian Gulf. The world's largest crude oil loading terminal by throughput. Adjacent to the Saudi Aramco Sea Island terminal. Processes Arab Light and Arab Medium crude. Products exported and crude loaded for VLCC tankers. |
| 6 | Port Arthur (Motiva) | 29.90°N 93.85°W | 630,000 | Motiva (Saudi Aramco 100%) | USA (Texas) | USA's largest single refinery. Motiva is a wholly-owned Saudi Aramco subsidiary since 2017. Processes primarily Saudi crude (Arab Light, Arab Heavy) received via the Gulf of Mexico. Reflects Saudi Aramco's strategy of owning downstream refining in key consumer markets. |
| 7 | Paraguana Refinery Complex | 11.77°N 70.23°W | 956,000 | PDVSA | Venezuela | Was the world's second-largest refinery complex before Venezuela's economic collapse. PDVSA's Cardon and Amuay refineries. Severely underperforming in – due to sanctions, maintenance failures, and skilled worker exodus — actual throughput estimated at 20–30% of nameplate capacity. |
| 8 | SK Energy Incheon | 37.47°N 126.62°E | 275,000 | SK Energy | South Korea | SK Energy's second refinery at Incheon port near Seoul. Primarily serves the capital region's automotive fuel demand. |
| 9 | Abadan Refinery | 30.34°N 48.28°E | 400,000 | NIORDC (Iran) | Iran | Historically important — was the world's largest refinery from 1913 to the 1950s. Destroyed in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), partially rebuilt. The 1951 nationalisation of Abadan by Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh triggered the 1953 CIA/MI6 coup (Operation Ajax/Boot). Abadan is the birthplace of the modern oil nationalisation movement. |
| 10 | GS Caltex Yeosu | 34.69°N 127.75°E | 730,000 | GS Caltex (Chevron 50%) | South Korea | Third major South Korean refinery, joint venture with Chevron. Yeosu petrochemical complex processes crude into fuels and aromatics (benzene, toluene, paraxylene) exported to China and Southeast Asia. |
India · Complete refinery list — all GPS-located
India's oil refineries — all 23 refineries GPS-located
India has a combined refining capacity of approximately 254 million tonnes per year (approximately 5.1 million bbl/day) from 23 refineries as of . Major operators: IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), BPCL (Bharat Petroleum), HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum), MRPL, Reliance. Source: PPAC India Annual Report 2023–24.
| Refinery | GPS | Capacity (MT/yr) | Operator | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamnagar DTA | 22.47°N 69.87°E | 33 MT | Reliance Industries | Gujarat | Part of world's largest refining complex. Fully export-oriented DTA unit. |
| Jamnagar SEZ | 22.46°N 69.88°E | 29 MT | Reliance Industries | Gujarat | Special Economic Zone refinery — exports primarily petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and naphtha to global markets. |
| Panipat | 29.41°N 76.88°E | 15 MT | Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) | Haryana | India's largest public-sector refinery. Also hosts IOCL's naphtha cracker and polypropylene plant. |
| Koyali (Vadodara) | 22.38°N 73.13°E | 13.7 MT | IOCL | Gujarat | India's first major refinery (1965). Oldest IOC refinery. Processes Bombay High crude and imported crude. |
| Vishakhapatnam (Visakha) | 17.73°N 83.23°E | 15.8 MT | HPCL | Andhra Pradesh | Hindustan Petroleum's largest refinery. Deep-water port access for VLCCs. Also adjacent to India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (ISR) cavern at Visakhapatnam (17.69°N 83.28°E). |
| Mangalore (MRPL) | 12.87°N 74.86°E | 15 MT | MRPL (Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, ONGC subsidiary) | Karnataka | Deep-water port access. Adjacent to India's ISR cavern at Mangalore. Processes Middle East sour crude. |
| Mumbai (Mahul) | 19.01°N 72.92°E | 12 MT | BPCL | Maharashtra | Bharat Petroleum's Mumbai refinery, near BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). Serves Mumbai region's transport fuel demand. |
| Trombay (Mumbai) | 19.05°N 72.90°E | 7.5 MT | HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum) | Maharashtra | Mumbai refinery expansion planned. West coast crude supply via VLCC. |
| Mathura | 27.47°N 77.67°E | 8 MT | IOCL | Uttar Pradesh | India's only inland major refinery. Controversial location — near Taj Mahal (27.17°N 78.04°E), whose white marble was reportedly threatened by refinery sulphur emissions. Supreme Court mandated low-sulphur fuel and stack scrubbers. |
| Barauni | 25.49°N 86.08°E | 6 MT | IOCL | Bihar | Serves east India's fuel demand. Crude supply via Paradip-Barauni pipeline. |
| Paradip | 20.32°N 86.67°E | 15 MT | IOCL | Odisha | India's newest major refinery (commissioned ). East coast deepwater port enables VLCC calls. India's first grass-roots refinery in 15 years when built. |
| Haldia | 22.06°N 88.10°E | 7.5 MT | IOCL | West Bengal | Serves West Bengal and northeast India. Haldia is also India's major LPG import terminal. |
| Numaligarh | 26.67°N 93.79°E | 3 MT | NRL (Numaligarh Refinery) | Assam | Processes northeast India crude from Assam oil fields. Expanding to 9 MT. Strategic for energy security of northeast India. |
| Digboi | 27.38°N 95.62°E | 0.65 MT | IOCL | Assam | World's oldest continuously operating refinery — established 1901 by Assam Oil Company. Processes crude from Assam's Digboi oil field. India's most historic oil site. |
| Bongaigaon | 26.47°N 90.59°E | 2.35 MT | IOCL | Assam | Processes northeast crude, wax, and asphaltic oil. Supplies northeast India states. |
Sources: PPAC India Annual Report 2023–24 · IOCL · HPCL · BPCL · Reliance Industries
Questions
Questions about oil refineries
Why is Jamnagar the world's largest refinery and why is it in Gujarat?
Jamnagar was chosen by Reliance Industries' founder Dhirubhai Ambani for three reasons: (1) Deep-water access — the Jamnagar/Sikka port (22.42°N 69.85°E) can receive the world's largest Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), enabling bulk procurement at lowest cost; (2) Available land — Reliance acquired approximately 7,500 acres of semi-arid coastal land in the 1990s at very low cost; (3) Gujarat's infrastructure — political will and available industrial utilities. The scale strategy was deliberate: Dhirubhai Ambani believed that refining economics are dominated by scale (larger = lower cost per barrel), so he built the world's largest unit from the start. Reliance built both the DTA refinery (1999, 660,000 bbl/day) and the SEZ refinery (2008, 580,000 bbl/day) — together they exceed any other single-site complex. India now has the world's largest single-site refining capacity, largely because of this one private-sector decision. Source: Reliance Industries Annual Report 2023 · PPAC India.
What does a refinery actually do to crude oil?
A refinery separates crude oil's molecular components and converts them into useful products through three main steps: (1) Atmospheric distillation: Crude oil is heated to approximately 400°C and the vapours rise through a distillation column. Lighter hydrocarbons (LPG, naphtha, gasoline) condense at the top; heavier fractions (kerosene/jet fuel, diesel, fuel oil) condense lower. The heaviest fraction (atmospheric residue) exits the bottom. (2) Vacuum distillation and cracking: The heavy residue is processed further under vacuum to extract more distillates, then subjected to fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) or hydrocracking — breaking large hydrocarbon molecules into smaller, more valuable ones (petrol, diesel). (3) Treating and blending: Products are treated to remove sulphur (hydrotreating), adjust octane (reforming), and blended to meet specifications. The "complexity" of a refinery (Nelson Complexity Index) measures how extensively it can upgrade heavy residue into lighter products — Jamnagar scores approximately 12.5 (highly complex). Source: EIA Refinery Primer · American Petroleum Institute.
Is India planning new refineries?
Yes — India is one of the few major economies actively planning new oil refineries, driven by rapidly growing domestic fuel demand (India's oil demand is projected to grow from approximately 5 million bbl/day in 2024 to 7–8 million bbl/day by 2035, the fastest growth of any major economy). Key planned/under-expansion projects: (1) Ratnagiri Refinery (16.99°N 73.30°E, Maharashtra coast) — 1.2 million bbl/day, a joint venture between IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, and potentially Saudi Aramco, UAE ADNOC. Would be the world's largest refinery. Long-delayed due to land acquisition opposition from local farmers. (2) Barmer Refinery (25.75°N 71.39°E, Rajasthan) — HPCL-Rajasthan Refinery Ltd, 9 MT/year, processes Rajasthan crude (Cairn/Vedanta fields). Under construction. (3) Multiple existing refinery expansions — Paradip, Panipat, Koyali. India's refining capacity target: 310 MT/year by 2025 (from 254 MT currently). Source: PPAC India · MoPNG India · Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
Provenance
Attribution and citation
- Sources
- PPAC India Annual Report 2023–24 · Reliance Industries AR 2023 · EIA Refinery Capacity Report · company annual reports · GEM CC BY 4.0 for GPS
- Cite as
- "World Refineries", The Energy Codex, https://thecodex.expert/energy/refineries/, last updated .