First Europe-bound ethane shipment from Marcus Hook loading soon

LONDON (ICIS)–The first ship to export ethane from the Marcus Hook natural gas liquids terminal on the US East Coast will be loaded over the next few days, terminal owner and operator Sunoco Logistics said on Thursday.

Ethane had been moved on the company’s Mariner East I pipeline and storage tanks at the export facility in Pennsylvania were being filled. Sunoco would be “filling up the [ethane] vessel over the next couple of days”, Sunoco Logistics CEO Michael Hennigan said.

The timing of Europe’s first and eagerly awaited petrochemical feedstock ethane cargo to be shipped from the US by INEOS had been delayed slightly, an INEOS spokesman confirmed earlier this week.

But Hennigan said on Thursday that loading was imminent.

The ethane cargo, which is due to be delivered into INEOS’ cracker at Rafnes in Norway, had been expected in the first half of February, according to market sources.

“Yes, there is a slight delay but this will not impact our business,” the INEOS spokesman said.

Ethane feedstock will also be delivered to INEOS’ UK cracker at Grangemouth later this year.

INEOS vessels, JS INEOS INGENUITY, INTREPID and INSIGHT were built in 2015 to transport the ethane, they recently took delivery of a fourth the JS INEOS INSPIRATION. A total of eight vessels will be built with the INVENTION, INDEPENDENCE, INNOVATION, and INTUITION still to come, according to a shipping source.

Vessel tracking service Marine Traffic shows two of the INEOS vessels – the INGENUITY and INTREPID – currently in the vicinity of Marcus Hook with INEOS INTREPID in dock.

“We are pleased to announce we are now moving ethane on our Mariner East system,” Hennigan said on release of Sunoco Logistics’ fourth quarter and full-year 2015 financial results on Wednesday.

“Full refrigeration capability for both ethane and propane at Marcus Hook enables faster loading of ships. Overall, the increased capacity of the Mariner East system benefits both shippers and consumers,” he added.

“Despite the current commodity environment, we are very bullish for the long term prospects of processing and distributing Pennsylvania natural gas liquids at our east coast energy hub,” he said.

The Mariner East I pipeline delivers ethane and propane, fractionated from the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits in the northeast US, to the coast.

Map taken from Marine Traffic www.marinetraffic.com

INEOS late on Wednesday announced that its fourth-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at €485m, down 6.7% year on year, on the back of weakening markets in Asia, particularly China.

Article co-authored with Nel Weddle
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