US ethane exports reached a new record high of 814,000 b/d in August, data from vessel-tracking service Kpler show.
The gains, which follow earlier expansions at Enterprise's and Energy Transfer's export terminals, are up from 620,000 b/d in July.
The bulk of exports, or 618,000 b/d, shipped to China, as increases in ethane-derived ethylene capacity and higher naphtha prices in the region bolstered demand.
Shipments to India, meanwhile fell versus July to 53,000 b/d, but were steady year-on-year.
Ethane loadings bound for Europe fell from 82,000 b/d to 77,000 b/d between July and August, the lowest shipments to that region since December 2022, owing to lower ethylene prices there.
Ethane shipments from Enterprise's Morgan's Point terminal near La Porte, Texas, hit a record 332,000 b/d, well over the nameplate capacity at the facility. Ethane loadings out of Enterprise's Neches River terminal rose to 188,000 b/d in August. Energy Transfer's Nederland, Texas, terminal, shipped 217,000 b/d.
Energy Transfer's Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, terminal shipped 77,000 b/d of ethane in August.
Ethane prices at Mont Belvieu, Texas, in dollar-per-tonne terms, averaged a $190.71/t discount to propane in August, the narrowest spread since February.
