Evergas said that it has secured 15-year shipping agreements with INEOS Europe for the transportation of ethane into Europe from the US Mariner East project. Under such agreements Evergas will build and operate new customized vessels that will be dedicated to the transportation of ethane from Marcus Hook, US to Rafnes, Norway.
Evergas has in turn entered into building contracts with Sinopacific Offshore and Engineering, China for the construction of state-of-the-art medium sized LNG carriers in the size of 27.500 cbm for delivery in 2015. The vessels will be built with unrivaled specifications matching highest environmental and efficiency performance measures.
Supporting customers’ business
Expanding upon the relations of more than a decade it has been paramount for Evergas to develop a flexible solution that support INEOS’ competitive business model and specific requirements. David Thompson, Procurement & Supply Chain director at INEOS Olefins & Polymers North says: “These shipping agreements are the final piece of the Mariner East project, allowing INEOS to import competitively priced ethane to our Rafnes cracker from the US. Evergas’ proposed solution matches perfectly our needs and offers innovative solutions such as the dual-fuel capability. We look forward to a mutually successful long-term relationship”
Throughout the project Evergas has worked to develop a vessel design that is highly advanced and tailored for the specific trade. Martin Ackermann, CEO of Evergas says: “Strong relations and the open mind and willingness to look to the future by INEOS has been imperative for our ability to develop innovative and technically advanced vessels offering safe, flexible, green and efficient transport solutions to the benefit of all involved parties.”
Gas fueling the future
A relentless increase in the world’s demand for energy and with gas rapidly replacing other fossil fuels in the global energy mix the demand growth for marine gas transportation is expected to be strong in the years ahead. Demand growth is further spurred by significant expected changes in demand for shale gas driven transportation, demand for gas as a marine fuel and development of short-haul marine redistribution networks. It is the clear strategy of Evergas to further develop and grow its presence within marine transportation of natural gas liquids for use as industrial feedstock and source of energy.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, January 23, 2013; Image: Evergas