Coast Guard oversees first US ethane export from Gulf of Mexico

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer Nease | Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Hilliard, a Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston facilities regulation expert, prepares to inspect a ship before the first Gulf Coast export of ethane from the world’s largest ethane-export terminal, the Enterprise Products Morgan’s Point terminal. located along the Houston Ship Channel. Thursday, Aug. 2016. Texas is the first state in the gulf to conduct the ethane exports, only six months after Sunoco, an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer, conducted the first overseas ethane export at a Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, terminal. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer Nease.  

HOUSTON , TX, UNITED STATES

08.18.2016

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jennifer Nease 

U.S. Coast Guard District 8 PADET Houston

Ethane is the second-largest element of natural gas and is used as an ingredient in plastics manufacturing.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Hilliard, a Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston facilities regulation expert, prepares to inspect a ship before the first Gulf Coast export of ethane from the world’s largest ethane-export terminal, located along the Houston Ship Channel.
The sector was involved in the Theprior to construction of their ethane export capability in 2014, as the sector led a Waterways Suitability Assessment to determine if the proposal would present any major safety and security threats to the port. In June of 2015, the sector provided a letter of recommendation in support of the facility’s proposal to conduct liquefied hydrocarbon gas operations.

The JS INEOS INTREPID ship's crew stand by during a first-time ethane transfer at the world's largest ethane-export terminal, along the Houston Ship Channel at the Enterprise Products Morgan’s Point terminal.
Coast Guard decisions, regarding the outcome of the assessments, play a major role in the start-up of multi-million or billion dollar facilities along Texas waterways.
Texas is the first state in the gulf to conduct the ethane exports, only six months after Sunoco, an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer, conducted the first overseas ethane export at a Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, terminal.
The Coast Guard’s authority to regulate such facilities has allowed us to play a key role in ensuring that major economic advancements in our ports and waterways are safe and secure.

• Date Taken: 08.18.2016
• Date Posted: 08.19.2016 10:40
• Story ID: 207685
• Location: HOUSTON , TX, US