The U.S. is by far the world’s largest ethane producer, and exports one-seventh of what it produces, with most of the exported volumes tied to long-term contracts to supply ethane-consuming steam crackers. Canada is the #1 importer of U.S. ethane, receiving its volumes via three pipelines. As for U.S. exports by ship, India is on top, followed by the UK and Norway. But watch out! China, which started importing U.S. ethane a year or so ago, is poised to buy a heck of lot more, with most of the incremental volumes to be shipped out of a new ethane export terminal about to come online in Nederland, TX. Today, we continue our series with a look at the Orbit Ethane Export Terminal, which is being jointly developed by Energy Transfer and Satellite Petrochemical, the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese petrochemical company.
As we said in Part 1, the Shale Revolution enabled the U.S. to become a leading producer of NGLs, including ethane. Just last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the U.S. produced a record 2.2 MMb/d of ethane in July 2020, and we estimate that around a million additional barrels per day on average this year has been “rejected” into the natural gas stream at processing plants and sold (at the price of gas) for its Btu value (see Turnin’ Natgas into Gold). About 280 Mb/d, or 14% of total U.S. ethane production, is currently being sent to other countries, with about one-third of the exports being piped to Canadian steam-cracker customers on either the Vantage, Mariner West, or Utopia pipelines. The other two-thirds is being loaded on Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) or smaller ethane carriers and floated to crackers in a number of other countries, with 63 Mb/d, on average, being shipped to India, 36 Mb/d headed for the UK, and 32 Mb/d bound for Norway. China is next — since September 2019, it has been receiving an average of 22 Mb/d of U.S. ethane, with 80% of the volumes being shipped out of Enterprise Products Partner’s Morgan’s Point export terminal on the Houston Ship Channel and the rest coming from Energy Transfer’s Marcus Hook facility near Philadelphia.
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In Part 2, we described the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex (ethane exporting capacity, 70 Mb/d) and the Morgan’s Point Ethane and Ethylene Export Terminal (ethane exporting capacity, 200 Mb/d) in some detail. We also discussed the long-term supply agreements that account for the vast majority of the ethane being exported. For example, Ineos, the London-based petrochemicals company, holds multiyear deals to supply its own steam crackers in Grangemouth, Scotland, and Rafnes, Norway, as well as ExxonMobil and Shell’s jointly owned steam cracker in Mossmorran, Scotland. Ineos also is under contract to supply ethane to SP Chemicals’ new 1,400-million-pounds/year steam cracker in Taixing City, in China’s Jiangsu province, which came online just over a year ago and is part of a much larger SP Chemicals complex there.
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About the song
"It Takes Two" was written by William Stevenson and Sylvia Moy, and appears as the first song on side one of Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston's duet album, Take Two. Produced by co-writer William Stevenson, who was Kim Weston's husband at the time, it was released as a single in December 1966. The song went to #4 on the Billboard Soul Singles Chart, and #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Personnel on the record were: Marvin Gaye (vocals), Kim Weston (vocals), The Funk Brothers (instrumentation), and The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (orchestration). The song was also released as a duet single with Rod Stewart and Tina Turner, off of Stewart's 1990 Vagabond Heart album. Pepsi used this version in a nationwide television ad campaign in 1990. Hip hop artists Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock had a hit record with a different song by the same name in 1988. Written by Robert Ginyard (Rob Base), Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two" went to #3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs, and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts. The single was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Take Two, the Motown duet album by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, was recorded at Hitsville USA in Detroit in 1964-66, with Harvey Fuqua and William Stevenson producing. The LP was released in August 1966. Weston left Motown shortly after the release of the album, over a dispute about royalties from the company.
Marvin Gaye was an American soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. He released 25 studio albums, four live albums, 24 compilation albums, one soundtrack album, and 83 singles. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, and has a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Gaye died in 1984 at the age of 44. Kim Weston is an American soul singer. She has released nine studio albums, four compilation albums, and 10 singles. She is a member of the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. Weston is retired and lives in Detroit.
