Ineos vessel completes loading ethane cargo at new Enterprise export terminal in US

The Ineos Intrepid vessel has completed loading the first cargo of ethane from Enterprise Products Partners' Morgan’s Point terminal in Texas, US.

After completing the load of around 265,000 barrels of ethane, the vessel set sail en route to the Ineos facility at Rafnes in Norway.

With this, Ineos Intrepid has become the first ship to export ethane out of Marcus Hook near Philadelphia.

"This is another significant development for INEOS Olefins & Polymers, as it secures additional ethane from the USA."

Known to be the largest of its kind, the Morgan’s Point ethane export terminal features a loading capacity of 10,000 barrels per hour.

Ineos trading and shipping CEO David Thompson 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.”

The Morgan’s Point terminal will help fulfil the increasing international demand for US ethane gas produced from shale, which is a raw material used in the petrochemical industry.

Enterprise, from its natural gas liquids fractionation and storage complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas, supplies ethane for its Morgan’s Point export terminal through a recently constructed pipeline.

Furthermore, the Mont Belvieu complex is connected to ethane production from the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions.

Constructed last year, the Ineos Intrepid is a liquefied gas build, which features an overall length of 180m and beam of 26m.

One of the four Dragon class carriers, the Ineos Intrepid has joined a fleet of eight of the world’s largest ethane capable carriers.

Ineos constructed two ethane gas storage tanks at Rafnes in Norway and at Grangemouth in Scotland, in a bid to obtain ethane, reported World Maritime News.