The first very large ethane carrier (VLEC) has been exported from Energy Transfer LP’s (ET) Nederland Terminal in East Texas loaded with more than 911,000 bbl of ethane destined for northeastern Jiangsu Province, China.

Dallas-based ET said the VLEC was loaded by Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports LLC, its joint venture with Satellite Petrochemical USA Corp. The Seri Everest, the world’s largest VLEC according to ET, departed from Orbit’s newly constructed export facilities at ET’s Nederland Terminal southeast of Houston near Port Arthur on Sunday (Jan. 17). The vessel was destined for Satellite’s Lianyungang ethane cracker in China’s northeastern Jiangsu Province, with an expected arrival at Lianyungang Port in mid-February. It is the “largest single shipment of ethane to...