MOSCOW (MRC) - Swiss group INEOS along with German company TGE Gas Engineering plans to build a new ethane tank at its Rafnes site in Norway, according to Ineos.
The construction is scheduled to begin in February-March, 2013, and the start-up of the production is to take place in 2015. The new facility will complement the existing storage at Rafnes.
As MRC reported previously, INEOS had already signed a long-term agreement on imports of ethane to Europe since 2015 for its cracker in Norway. The feedstock will be supplied by the U.S. company Range Resources Appalachia from the industrial complex located at Marcus Hook (Philadelphia, USA). In addition, Ineos signed a 15-year contract with Sunoco's subsidiaries for the feedstock transportation through the pipeline from Houston to the Marcus Hook's facility, from where it will be delivered to Ineos' cracker in Rafnes.
Ineos said that the construction project will allow the company to get access to the global ethane markets and ensure long-term competitiveness of the company.
David Thompson, Procurement & Supply Chain Director at INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe says: "The construction of the tank will give Rafnes and our business in Norway additional capacity and enormous flexibility to benefit from globally available ethane. Combined with the recent supply agreements, I believe that we significantly strengthen the competitive position at Rafnes for the foreseeable future."
MRC