INEOS Marks 10 Years of US Ethane Supply to Grangemouth

Ten years ago on 28 September 2016, the Dragon Ship JS INEOS Insight docked at Grangemouth, Scotland. It was carrying 27,500 cubic metres of US shale ethane. That delivery completed the first transatlantic ethane voyage and put INEOS's $2 billion bet on a new feedstock supply chain to the test.

INEOS had spent around $2 billion building a purpose-designed fleet of ethane carriers, called Dragon Ships, along with the export and import terminal infrastructure on both sides of the Atlantic. The Grangemouth cracker needed a new feedstock source. North Sea naphtha had become costly, and the plant was commercially marginal.

US shale changed the arithmetic. The Dragon Ships, including INEOS Insight and INEOS Intuition, now rotate regularly on the North Atlantic route, keeping the Grangemouth cracker supplied with US ethane. The feedstock switch cut costs and extended the plant's commercial life, protecting thousands of jobs in central Scotland.

INEOS marked the 10-year point on 28 September 2026, saying the route has shown that long-haul ethane supply can be sustained reliably at scale. The trade has also drawn other operators into the market. Navigator Gas recently ordered two more ethane engine conversions, a sign that ethane carriage continues to attract investment as demand grows.