U.S. ethane oceangoing exports are on pace to set an all-time high in May as the Enterprise Morgans Point and Energy Transfer Nederland (ET) terminals on the Texas Gulf Coast operate close to capacity. As shown on the left-hand chart below, total U.S. waterborne exports of ethane averaged about 480 Mb/d during the first two weeks of May, which is ~50 Mb/d above the record-high rate set in December 2022. Energy Transfer’s Nederland terminal (green bars) exported 195 Mb/d of ethane in early May, 108% of nameplate capacity. Ethane shipments out of Enterprise’s Morgans Point facility (blue bars) were 222 Mb/d, slightly below the terminal’s refrigeration capacity (10,000 barrels/hr). Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook terminal (red bars) on the East Coast exported 62 Mb/d of ethane, which is about 85% of operating capacity. As shown on the right-hand chart below, ethane shipments to Europe (red bars) soared to 200 Mb/d, which is also a record-high.
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Wave Of New U.S.G.C. Ethane Export Capacity Looms
Send It to Me - Overseas Demand Expansions Key to U.S. Ethane Export Growth
The U.S. started exporting ethane by ship less than three years ago, first out of Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook terminal near Philadelphia and then from Enterprise Products Partners’ Morgan’s Point facility along the Houston Ship Channel. Good news for NGL producers, right? Well yes, sort of. Because while waterborne export volumes rose through 2016, 2017 and the first seven months of last year, they’ve been flat-to-declining ever since, with further ethane-export growth hampered primarily by a lack of international demand. That demand may soon be ratcheting up — mostly in China, but also in Europe — but it won’t happen overnight. Today, we discuss ethane export trends, the Morgan’s Point and Marcus Hook marine facilities, and plans for new ethane export capacity tied directly to new overseas ethane crackers.
