U.S. Ethane Heads For Canada

The U.S. is now shipping ethane to Canada for the first time in 25 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Earlier this month, ethane began flowing from shale-gas-rich North Dakota along the newly completed Vantage pipeline to the Alberta Ethane Gathering System in Canada. The northbound traffic began in December when the Mariner West pipeline took on ethane from southwestern Pennsylvania for shipment to Nova Chemicals’ Sarnia, Ontario, petrochemical complex. Soon to start are exports of ethane from the U.S. to Europe. Ineos just expanded an agreement with marine shipper Evergas to deliver U.S. ethane to its petrochemical complex in Rafnes, Norway, and now its Grangemouth, Scotland, site. Ineos will begin receiving ethane in 2015.