US Energy Transfer loads first cargo at new Orbit ethane export terminal

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The first very large ethane carrier (VLEC) was loaded at US Energy Transfer and Chinese Satellite Petrochemicals’s Orbit export terminal in Nederland, Texas, according to a press release from Energy Transfer.

The vessel was loaded with more than 911,000 bbl of ethane destined for Satellite’s Lianyungang ethane cracker in northeastern Jiangsu Province, China.

The Orbit terminal, one of only three US ethane export terminals, includes a 1.2m bbl ethane storage tank and an estimated 180,000 bbl/day ethane refrigeration facility.

Under the joint venture with Satellite, Energy Transfer is the operator of Orbit’s assets, which also include a newly constructed 20-inch pipeline originating at Energy Transfer’s fractionation and storage facilities in Mont Belvieu, Texas, for ethane deliveries to the Nederland export terminal as well as domestic markets in the region.

In association with Orbit, Energy Transfer also completed its build-out of wholly owned infrastructure at Mont Belvieu to supply ethane to Orbit’s pipeline, and at Nederland to load the ethane onto VLECs.

Under separate agreements, Energy Transfer will provide Satellite with approximately 150,000 bbl/day of ethane under a long-term, demand-based agreement, along with storage and marketing services.

Ethane is one of the most important building blocks for the petrochemical industry, used to produce ethylene and derivatives polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and ethylene glycol (EG), among other products.

Thumbnail image shows a test tube containing PE. Photo by Al Greenwood