• GlobalData's 13 October 2026 commentary expects Asia to dominate polyethylene capacity growth through 2030, with China holding the most upcoming projects.
• GlobalData's 9 September 2025 release counted 14.08 mtpa of Chinese additions over 2025-2030, about 25% of the global total, from 34 planned and six announced projects. That figure is a year old.
• The Gulf link is a plant name: Fujian Sinopec Aramco Refining and Petrochemical Zhangzhou Polyethylene Plant 2, listed for 2030. GlobalData gives no ownership split.
• Hydrocarbon Processing reported that construction of a roughly $10 billion Sinopec-Aramco complex in Zhangzhou began in November 2024. Whether GlobalData's plant belongs to that complex is not stated.
• GlobalData's listings do not report financing status, so they cannot sort projects into financed or delivering.

Asia will dominate polyethylene capacity growth through 2030, according to GlobalData analysis carried by Offshore Technology on 13 October 2026. The evidence is a project list, not a record of plants delivered. Neither GlobalData document we read reports financing status, so the list cannot show which bets have a buyer. The one entry with a Gulf name is Zhangzhou Polyethylene Plant 2, and the Gulf link is thinner than the name suggests.

What GlobalData's China figures cover

GlobalData's release of 9 September 2025 puts China at 14.08 million tonnes a year (mtpa) of polyethylene additions over 2025-2030, about a quarter of global additions, from 34 planned and six announced projects. That is a year-old figure from one commercial analyst. The October 2026 commentary gives no updated China total, saying only that China has the most upcoming projects. We cite no OPEC, IEA or EIA series because none covers plant-level polyethylene additions in these documents.

The project that carries Aramco's name

GlobalData lists Fujian Sinopec Aramco Refining and Petrochemical Zhangzhou Polyethylene Plant 2 at 0.50 mtpa in 2025, with no start year, and for 2030 in the 2026 commentary, with no capacity. Aramco appears only in the plant's name. GlobalData states no role or stake, so any reading of Saudi Aramco's exposure is inference. This is a downstream-chemicals position, not a crude or gas one.

What the Zhangzhou construction report adds

Hydrocarbon Processing reported in November 2024 that Sinopec and Saudi Aramco had started building a petrochemical complex of about $10 billion in Fujian province. Construction is a stronger signal than an analyst's planned-plant entry, because capital is being spent. The sources do not link GlobalData's polyethylene plant to that complex, so we treat the shared name and province as a pointer, not as confirmation.

Why start dates are working assumptions

GlobalData's 2025 release expects Zhejiang Petrochemical's Daishan Polyethylene Plant 7 (Swing), at 0.70 mtpa, in 2029. The 2026 commentary says it is likely to come onstream in 2028. Neither document explains the change; it may be a revised estimate, but the sources do not say. Start years in this pipeline are analyst estimates until operators or regulators confirm them.

Beyond China: India, Indonesia, Korea, Brunei

The October 2026 commentary names Bharat Petroleum's Bina plant in India, with a 100% equity stake and a 2028 start. It counts four upcoming projects in Indonesia, three planned by S-Oil in South Korea, and two being developed by Hengyi Industries in Brunei. It gives no capacity for these. GlobalData ties the growth to packaging, construction, automotive and consumer-goods demand, without a demand-side check.

What to watch: operator or regulator confirmation of start dates, disclosed financing for the 2030 projects, and any statement from Aramco on whether Zhangzhou Plant 2 sits inside the Fujian complex. This is analysis, not investment or trading advice.