The Secretariat of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) released the 60th edition of its annual statistical bulletin (ASB-2025) last week, covering data for 2024. According to the report, total refining capacity among OPEC members in 2024 stood at 14.139 million barrels per day, while global refining capacity reached 103.769 million barrels per day.

These figures show that OPEC members collectively held 13.6% of the world’s refining capacity in 2024. Compared to the previous year, global refining capacity rose by 1%, while OPEC’s share increased by 0.5%.

Saudi Arabia leads OPEC in refining capacity with 3.291 million barrels per day, representing over 23% of the group’s total. Iran follows in second place.

Iran’s rank is particularly notable because it is only the third-largest crude oil producer in OPEC—after Saudi Arabia and Iraq—but it refines a larger portion of its oil domestically. Roughly 69% of Iran’s crude production is refined into valuable petroleum products within the country, reducing reliance on crude exports and meeting domestic energy needs. In comparison, Saudi Arabia refines about 39% of its crude, and Iraq slightly over 30%.