【Introduction】：Affected by the delayed restart of some previously overhauled units, benzene’s capacity utilization rate in June hit its lowest level since the pandemic. Based on current maintenance schedules, the capacity utilization rate is expected to decline further in July.
In June, the maintenance-related production loss amounted to 354,800 tons, an increase of 55,800 tons month-on-month, or 18.66%, and a year-on-year increase of 210,000 tons, or 145.03%.
A total of 12 new units entered maintenance during the month, with a combined capacity of 3.535 million tons. Among them, 2 units completed maintenance and restarted in June, 6 units are scheduled to restart in July, and 4 units are slated for restart between August and September. Additionally, a total of 24 units from previous maintenance periods were delayed into this month. Of these, 2 units restarted within the month, 8 units are planned for restart in July, and 12 units are in long-term shutdown (with a shut-down duration of less than two years).
Table 1: Summary of Domestic Benzene Unit Maintenance in June 2026 (Unit: 10,000 tons/year, 10,000 tons)
| Producer | Unit in Maintenance | Capacity (10,000 t/yr) | Start Time | End Time | Maintenance Days | Monthly Production Loss (10,000 tons) | Reason for Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jincheng Petrochemical | Cracking | 10 | 2024/10/6 | - | - | 0.90 | Economic |
| CNPC International (Overseas Energy) | Reforming | 2 | 2025/1/10 | - | - | 0.18 | Long-term Shutdown |
| Huifeng Petrochemical | Reforming | 3.5 | 2025/1/25 | - | - | 0.32 | Long-term Shutdown |
| Chambroad Petrochemical | Cracking | 7 | 2025/10/10 | - | - | 0.63 | Unplanned |
| Zhongyuan Ethylene | Cracking | 4.4 | 2025/11/5 | - | Planned Closure | 0.40 | Planned Shutdown |
| Youtai Petrochemical | Reforming | 1.5 | 2025/12/25 | - | - | 0.14 | Unplanned |
| CNOOC Daxie | Reforming | 22 | 2025/11/5 | - | - | 1.98 | Unplanned |
| Gulei Petrochemical | Cracking | 14 | 2026/3/9 | 2026/7/18 | 131 | 1.26 | Planned |
| Shijiazhuang Refining & Chemical | Reforming | 6.8 | 2026/3/15 | - | - | 0.61 | Planned |
| Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corp | 1 Set of Disproportionation | 31 | 2026/3/22 | - | - | 2.79 | Feedstock Supply |
| Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corp | 1 Set of Reforming | 24 | 2026/3/22 | - | - | 2.16 | Feedstock Supply |
| Tianjin INEOS | Aromatics Extraction | 20.4 | 2026/3/25 | - | - | 1.84 | Feedstock Supply |
| Maoming Petrochemical | Reforming | 12 | 2026/3/28 | 2026/7/13 | 107 | 1.08 | Feedstock Supply |
| Yangzi Petrochemical | No. 2 Cracking | 8 | 2026/3/30 | 2026/9/30 | 185 | 0.72 | Advance Maintenance |
| Yangzi Petrochemical | Reforming, Aromatics | 41 | 2026/5/12 | 2026/9/30 | 142 | 3.69 | Planned |
| Panjin Baolai | 1 Set of Reforming | 6 | 2026/4/7 | - | - | 0.54 | Planned |
| Panjin Haoye | Reforming | 6 | 2026/4/18 | 2026/7/30 | 103 | 0.54 | Planned |
| CNOOC Zhoushan | Reforming | 5 | 2026/4/25 | 2026/7/10 | 76 | 0.45 | Planned |
| CNOOC Taizhou | Reforming | 7 | 2026/4/27 | 2026/7/1 | 65 | 0.63 | Planned |
| Zibo Junchen | Cracking | 3 | 2026/5/12 | 2026/7/15 | 64 | 0.27 | Planned |
| Wanhua Chemical | Cracking | 15 | 2026/5/12 | 2026/6/3 | 22 | 0.14 | Planned |
| Qicheng Petrochemical | Reforming | 5 | 2026/5/17 | 2026/7/3 | 47 | 0.45 | Planned |
| Zhongjin Petrochemical | Reforming, Disproportionation | 48 | 2026/5/29 | 2026/7/18 | 50 | 4.32 | Planned |
| Hainan Refining & Chemical | No. 2 Aromatics | 20 | 2026/5/31 | 2026/9/5 | 97 | 1.80 | Advance Maintenance |
| Sinopec-SK (Wuhan) Petrochemical | Cracking | 24 | 2026/6/4 | 2026/7/30 | 56 | 2.16 | Planned |
| Hainan Refining & Chemical | Cracking | 20 | 2026/6/7 | 2026/9/5 | 90 | 1.38 | Advance Maintenance |
| Yulong Petrochemical | Reforming | 25 | 2026/6/8 | 2026/6/30 | 23 | 1.65 | Unplanned |
| Zhanjiang Dongxing | Whole Plant | 5.5 | 2026/6/8 | 2026/7/30 | 52 | 0.50 | Unplanned |
| Wudi Xinyue | Reforming | 7 | 2026/6/8 | 2026/6/16 | 9 | 0.19 | Unplanned |
| Shengxing Petrochemical | Reforming | 7 | 2026/6/22 | 2026/7/5 | 14 | 0.19 | Unplanned |
| Wantong Petrochemical | Reforming | 3 | 2026/6/25 | 2026/7/25 | 30 | 0.05 | Planned |
| Fuhaichuang | Whole Plant | 30 | 2026/6/26 | 2026/7/26 | 30 | 0.45 | Planned |
| Weilien Chemical | Whole Plant | 60 | 2026/6/28 | 2026/8/10 | 45 | 0.54 | Planned |
| Hainan Refining & Chemical | No. 1 Aromatics | 15 | 2026/6/30 | 2026/9/5 | 66 | 0.05 | Planned |
| Longjiang Chemical | Whole Plant | 20 | 2026/6/30 | 2026/7/24 | 25 | 0.06 | Planned |
| Shenghong Refining & Chemical | Whole Plant | 137 | 2026/6/30 | 2026/8/15 | 45 | 0.41 | Planned |
| Total | 676.1 | 35.48 |
Affected by factors such as insufficient feedstock supply and faults during the maintenance period, the restart of several previously overhauled units was further delayed in June. Consequently, the maintenance-related production loss in June hit a historical high. Entering July, as the large units that started maintenance at the end of June will primarily reflect their production losses in July, and some previously shut-down units are expected to remain idle in July, the maintenance-related production loss is projected to reach another record high.
Benzene production in June was assessed at 1.6715 million tons, a decrease of 78,400 tons from May, or a decline of 4.48%. Compared to June 2025, this represents a decrease of 170,600 tons, or a drop of 9.26%. On a daily production basis, benzene output in June was estimated at 55,700 tons/day, lower than the 56,400 tons/day in May. The assessed capacity utilization rate for June was 65.01%, down 0.85% from May and down 12.57% year-on-year from June 2025. The decline in production and capacity utilization was primarily driven by planned unit maintenance and feedstock-related production cuts.
Entering July, due to the shutdown of large units including Shenghong Refining & Chemical and Weilien Chemical at the end of June, the benzene capacity utilization rate is expected to continue falling to a new historical low of around 57%. It is then projected to rebound starting late July, following the restart progress of units under maintenance. However, due to the reduction in imports caused by previous Strait incidents, it is difficult for domestic benzene supply to recover to the levels seen in the same period of 2025 before September. Furthermore, the recovery process could still be slowed down by feedstock issues. Therefore, despite currently weak benzene demand, the low domestic capacity utilization rate and production volume will still drive a broad inventory drawdown in the overall supply-demand balance for July.
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