Ineos to Supply First Ever US Ethane to China in 2019

Ineos has announced a long-term supply agreement with SP Chemicals to deliver ethane from US shale gas to China.

The agreement, which will see US ethane from shale gas shipped to China for the first time, will supply SP Chemicals with a long-term competitive supply of ethane for its industrial production.

The deal will involve the construction of a 95,000cbm capacity ship which is expected to be delivered in 2019. Known in US as a very large ethane carrier (VLEC) it will be the largest ethane carrier in the world, and will ship US ethane from shale gas to SP Chemicals’ new gas cracker facility, currently under construction in Taixing China.

As with the Ineos Dragon ships, this vessel will be operated by Evergas. It will be the first VLEC in their fleet of 23 gas ships. The ship will be built in China under the management of the JACCAR Group.

“This is another world first for Ineos after importing shale gas to Europe in 2015. By bringing in US ethane from shale gas to China for the first time, we are now leading the way in shipping ethane worldwide to meet the needs of an expanding chemicals sector. We are excited to work with a client such as SP Chemicals and we look forward to delivering this historic project,” said David Thompson, CEO of Ineos trading and shipping.

“We are very happy to work with Ineos. It has long been a dream for SP Chemicals to integrate upstream. SP Chemicals will commission a gas cracker plant in 2019 to produce 650,000 tons per annum of ethylene. This first long-term supply agreement for ethane with Ineos will be an important milestone for SP Chemicals to achieve self-sufficiency for its ethylene requirements,” said Chan Hian Siang, CEO of SP Chemicals.