The first shipload of ethane was successfully unloaded! The ‘lifeline’ for raw materials in Sinopec’s Nangang ethylene project has been successfully established

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On December 16, 2025, the ship “IINO INEOS VESTA”, carrying 31,000 tons of ethane, safely berthed at the Light Hydrocarbons Terminal in Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone, where the unloading operations were completed successfully. This is the first vessel to arrive at the Nangang Light Hydrocarbons Terminal since it obtained its port operation license and was opened to external traffic. It marks the full establishment of the \"dedicated supply route\" designed specifically for the key project – Sinopec’s Nangang 1.2 million tons per year ethylene production facility – and it also represents a significant step forward for Tianjin Port in its efforts to become a world-class green chemical hub and to support national energy security strategies. https://p3-sign.toutiaoimg.com/tos-cn-i-axegupay5k/9ba9a600e1494aacabe2530edbd8ed8f~tplv-tt-origin-web:gif.jpeg?_iz=58558&from=article.pc_detail&lk3s=953192f4&x-expires=1766500936&x-signature=%2FrDd%2FDeuBz0rTJK7ozNCZqiizys%3D As a key component of the 1.2 million tons per year ethylene project, which is one of the priority projects under the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Nangang Light Hydrocarbons Terminal has an investment cost of around 1.9 billion yuan. It features a 50,000-ton capacity liquefied hydrocarbons berth and 160,000 cubic meters of low-temperature ethane storage tanks; its designed annual handling capacity is 1.81 million tons, and it can accommodate light hydrocarbons vessels with a capacity of 3,000 to 50,000 tons. The successful unloading of the first shipload of ethane has established a new raw material delivery model based on a combination of sea transport and pipelines. The ethane is unloaded at the port and then transported via pre-existing pipelines to the site of the Nangang ethylene project. This approach not only ensures a stable supply of raw materials for the production of high-end chemical products in this project but also significantly reduces its overall logistics costs, thereby providing a strong boost to the company’s competitiveness in the market.