Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP recently announced that the first cargo of ethane to be exported from its Morgan’s Point, Texas, terminal has been loaded. The M/V JS INEOS Intrepid, loaded with around 265,000 barrels (bbl) of ethane, set sail from the facility on Sept. 1 en route to INEOS’s Rafnes facility in Norway.

The Morgan’s Point ethane export facility, which is the largest of its kind in the world, has a design loading capacity of 10,000 bbl per hour, according to Enterprise Products.

“The driving force behind development of the terminal is the growing international demand for abundant U.S. ethane from shale plays, which offers the global petrochemical industry a low-cost feedstock option and supply diversification,” the company stated in a release.

“By providing producers with access to the export market, the Morgan’s Point terminal is also facilitating continued development of U.S. energy reserves,” Enterprise Products noted.

Supply for the new ethane export terminal is sourced from Enterprise’s NGL fractionation and storage complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and transported through a new 18-mile, 24-inch diameter pipeline that was completed in February. In addition, the Mont Belvieu complex is connected to ethane production from the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions through the ATEX pipeline.

Bryan Sims can be reached at bsims@hartenergy.com and @bsimshart.

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