The contract has been granted to JGC America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese engineering contractor JGC Corporation. With this agreement, Odfjell Terminals enters into the last phase of engineering before the final investment decision.

In the US, many new ethane crackers have been announced and are under construction as a result of the shale gas revolution, which provides US crackers a significant feedstock advantage compared to crackers in Europe and Asia.

To date, there are no efficient export facilities for ethylene in the US. The ethylene terminal will allow producers, consumers and traders to export ethylene to other parts of the world. The terminal in Seabrook is ideally located nearby all major ethylene pipeline corridors, and has land available for expansion with marine infrastructure.

“We strongly believe that Odfjell Terminals’ ethylene facility can open global markets for ethylene produced in the US. It will provide producers, traders and consumers the opportunity to take advantage of the competitive cost price of US produced ethylene. Our terminal in Seabrook is in an excellent location at the entrance of the Houston Ship Channel, and allows unrestricted access for ethylene carriers to our dedicated ship dock. The high loading rates of our terminal will ensure swift turnaround times of our customer’s vessels”, said Frank Erkelens, CEO of Odfjell Terminals.