Swedish integrated olefins and polyolefins producer, Borealis, has inked a 10-year deal with Antero Resources to supply ethane from the US for its flexible steam cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden.
Alongside, Borealis has also signed a shipping agreement with Navigator Holdings to ship the ethane to its site in Stenungsund. It is additionally investing in an upgrade of the Stenungsund cracker and the construction of an ethane storage tank.
Borealis had recently signed an ethane supply contract with Statoil and this new US contract, Borealis said, complements the Statoil contract, by providing Borealis with an alternative attractive source of feedstock for its petrochemical plant in Sweden.
Antero Resources will supply ethane originating from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations to Borealis in Stenungsund, the first delivery of which is planned for late 2016. Borealis has signed parallel fractionation, pipeline and terminal service contracts to enable free on board (FOB) delivery.
The ethane supply coming to Stenungsund by ship will be stored in a purpose-built, fully refrigerated ethane tank, for which a turnkey agreement has been signed with TGE Gas Engineering GmbH to construct the tank.
In parallel, Borealis will also upgrade its steam cracker to enable increased ethane cracking.
"We need to take advantage of the significant shift in ethane availability triggered by the US shale gas boom," says Mark Garrett, Borealis Chief Executive. "In an increasingly challenging environment in Europe this is an exciting opportunity to increase the competitiveness of our integrated polyolefins business."
"The ethane contract with Antero Resources in combination with the recently renewed North Sea-based ethane contract with Statoil provides us with an ideal portfolio of sources balancing cost competitiveness and supply security," comments Markku Korvenranta, Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals.
“The cracker in Stenungsund is one of the most feedstock-flexible crackers in Europe. In addition to ethane, it can also crack naphtha, propane and butane”, Borealis said.
