Ineos is set to begin processing U.S. shale gas ethane at an ethylene plant in Scotland that has been mothballed for eight years. The company said in a statement today Train 2 of the gas cracker at its Grangemouth facility has undergone operational trials and recommissioning and will begin receiving imported gas in the fall. Ineos idled the unit in 2008 after it was unable to operate at full capacity.
Ineos will acquire ethane from the Marcellus Shale and ship it via the Mariner East pipeline to the Marcus Hook terminal near Philadelphia. It will then transported across the Atlantic Ocean on eight vessels to a new import terminal at Grangemouth.
The imported ethane will replace dwindling supplies from the North Sea, Ineos said.
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