14 Jul 2015

INEOS Visionary $1billion project to transport shale gas from the USA to Europe reaches final lap

INEOS

INEOS names first two ships built to transport US Shale gas to Europe.
The JS INEOS Insight and JS INEOS Ingenuity are the first two of a fleet of eight ships designed to provide a “virtual pipeline” with capacity to transport over 800,000 tonnes a year of ethane gas at -90°C across the Atlantic from the USA to Norway and Scotland.
The building of these ships is part of a $1 billion project which also includes access to US shale gas, capacity contracts to transport the gas across hundreds of miles of pipelines; to the building of export facilities in the USA and import facilities in Europe.
This project will revolutionize the competitive position of INEOS in Europe by reducing both its feedstock and energy costs.
Jim Ratcliffe says, “Today is a landmark day for both INEOS and our European facilities. We have seen how US shale gas revolutionized US manufacturing and we believe the completion of this project will help do the same for Europe. INEOS has commissioned eight brand new ships, contracted capacity along hundreds of miles of new pipeline and built two enormous import terminals to get US Shale gas to Europe. The scale of the whole project is truly breathtaking”.

The launch of the JS INEOS Insight and the JS INEOS Ingenuity is just the latest landmark in INEOS visionary $1 billion global project to transport US shale gas to Europe.

INEOS contracts with US shale gas producers and with pipeline companies to transport gas hundreds of miles from the Marcellus Shale in Western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook gas terminal close to Philadelphia.

INEOS has also constructed two brand new import terminals to receive the gas at its petrochemical plants at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway.

The massive project is on schedule to deliver shale gas into Norway later this year and then into Grangemouth next year. Just last week the roof of Europe’s largest ethane gas storage tank was raised into place at Grangemouth in Scotland, marking the end of yet another major milestone in the project.

Jim Ratcliffe says, “Bringing US Shale gas to Europe is been a huge undertaking, involving INEOS experts from across the globe. To see these two state of the art ships finally completed here in China means that this vast project will soon be fully operational. US Shale gas will help keep our businesses competitive for years to come and guarantee long terms jobs and investment”.

But INEOS does not only intend to import Shale gas to Europe. The company is the third biggest owner of Shale gas licences in the UK and has applied for many more from the UK government.

It is INEOS’ intention to become the UK’s biggest indigenous Shale gas player and to lead a UK and European Shale gas revolution.

Jim Ratcliffe adds, “Today, we have shown that INEOS has the skills and imagination to bring US Shale gas to Europe. In the longer term, we plan to develop an indigenous UK Shale gas industry. We know we have the resources to make it happen, the expertise to extract the gas safely and the vision to make sure that the local communities share the rewards with us.”

ENDS