Grangemouth owner Ineos has leased two further shale gas ships, bringing its fleet of “dragon boats” to eight.
The ships will be used to transport ethane fracked in the US to be processed at Ineos’ “crackers” at Grangemouth and Rafnes, Norway, in an effort to combat higher prices of gas from the North Sea.
The ships are being built in China by Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering and managed by Copenhagen-based Evergas. Both firms are controlled by Jaccar Holdings, owned by French sugar billionaire Jacques de Chateauvieux.
Ineos said construction of a new £200million ethane import terminal and storage tank at Grangemouth is well under way and should be completed in 2016.
The ships are specially built for shale gas export and can chill the gas down to -100C.
David Thompson, Chief Operating Officer Ineos Trading & Shipping says: “The ethane that we are bringing to our sites from the US is essential to these plants. As the most competitive feedstock in Europe and will be transformational for our operations. The two additional “Dragon Ships” mean we can transport sufficient volumes of ethane to meet the demands of our manufacturing sites and continue to take advantage of significant cost benefits.”
Ineos claims that investment in a supply of US ethane is “vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of gas crackers that so far have relied on declining and expensive volumes from the North Sea”.