Ineos and Enterprise Products Partners said the first cargo of ethane to be exported from a Texas terminal has been loaded.
The Ineos Intrepid set sail yesterday en route to another facility at Rafnes in Norway.
The vessel was the first ship to export ethane out of Marcus Hook near Philadelphia in March as well as the new Morgan’s Point terminal on the Gulf Coast.
The Morgan’s Point ethane facility, which is the largest of its kind in the world, can load at a rate of 10,000 barrels per hour.
It provides Ineos with another supply route from the USA in addition to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.
David Thompson, chief executive of Ineos Trading and Shipping, said:”This is another significant development for INEOS Olefins & Polymers as it secures additional ethane from the USA. It complements our needs for competitive raw materials for our European cracker complexes.”
Ineos said the investment in the terminal by Enterprise will help to secure the growing international demand for supplies of US ethane from shale, which offers diversification and a competitive raw material for the global petrochemical industry.