Cheap American shale gas arrives in Norway – and Europe – for the first time on Wednesday. The petrochemicals company INEOS will get weekly deliveries to its facility Rafnes Bamble.
Despite the fact that Norway has shelf full of gas, the company has chosen to purchase ethane gas from the United States, derived from shale, for its plastic production.
INEOS has in recent years built appropriate storage tanks for shale gas in several places in Europe, but has chosen Rafnes in Norway for the first delivery.
The first ship to dock at Rafnes is the largest of its kind, loaded with 27,500 cubic meters of ethane gas to be used in production.
– We are nearing the end of a hugely ambitious project that has taken us five years, Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe says.
The first shipment of gas left Philadelphia in the United States earlier this month.
Competition
Before the shale gas revolution in the US , the Americans imported gas from sources such as Europe, including Norwegian LNG. Now it’s the other way around, with oil and gas production being cheaper being”over there.” In addition to the price, lack of infrastructure makes an impact, namely that there is no pipeline from Norwegian fields to the plant at Grenland, CEO at Ineos Bamble, Magnar Bakke says to online site E24.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
