據油氣工程5月25日消息稱，自2013年以來，美國乙烷產量快速增長。乙烷是一種主要由天然氣加工廠生產的碳氫氣體液體(HGL)。產量幾乎翻了一番，從2013年第一季度的95萬桶/天增加到2021年第一季度的185萬桶/天。

　　美國能源信息署（EIA）在其《短期能源展望》中預測，隨著美國石化工業的增長以及對全球石化工廠的乙烷出口的增加，乙烷產量將繼續增長，到2022年第四季度達到260萬桶/天。

　　美國對乙烷的需求一直在穩步增長，原因是石化行業使用乙烷作為原料的乙烯裂解裝置的產能不斷擴大。乙烯是一種用于生產塑料和樹脂的基本化學品。EIA估計，美國石化行業的乙烯生產能力從2013年第一季度的近2700萬噸/年(十多年來首次增加乙烯裂化裝置的產能)擴大到2020年的近4000萬噸/年。乙烯產能的增長導致國內對乙烷作為原料的需求從2013年第一季度的96萬桶/天增長到2020年第四季度的183萬桶/天。

　　由于2月中旬的冬季風暴關閉了墨西哥灣沿岸的大多數石化裂解爐，2021年第一季度乙烷消費量下降至151萬桶/天。

　　EIA預計，隨著全球完成更多的石化裂化裝置，美國乙烷出口的國際需求也將增長。美國的乙烷出口始于2014年，當時第一條出口管道建成，將乙烷運往加拿大的石化工廠。從那時起，增加了更多的出口能力，包括三個海上出口碼頭，這些碼頭用特制的油輪向海外運送低溫冷卻乙烷。EIA預計乙烷出口量將增長50%以上，從2021年第一季度的30萬桶/天增長到2022年第4季度的46萬桶/天。

　　朱佳妮 摘譯自 油氣工程

　　原文如下：

　　US ethane production to grow

　　US production of ethane, a hydrocarbon gas liquid (HGL) produced primarily in natural gas processing plants, has grown rapidly since 2013. Production has nearly doubled from 0.95 million bpd in 1Q13 to 1.85 million bpd in 1Q21.

　　In its ‘Short-Term Energy Outlook’, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast ethane production to continue to grow in response to a growing US petrochemical industry and rising ethane exports to petrochemical plants around the world, reaching 2.6 million bpd by 4Q22.

　　US demand for ethane has been growing steadily as a result of capacity expansions of ethylene crackers in the petrochemical industry, which use ethane as a feedstock. Ethylene is a basic chemical used to produce plastics and resins. The EIA estimates that the US petrochemical industry expanded its capacity to produce ethylene from almost 27 million tpy in 1Q13 (when the first capacity additions to ethylene crackers in over a decade came online) to almost 40 million tpy in 2020. This growth in ethylene capacity caused domestic demand for ethane as a feedstock to grow from 960 000 bpd in 1Q13 to 1.83 million bpd in the 4Q20.

　　Ethane consumption declined in 1Q21 (dropping to 1.51 million bpd) because of a mid-February winter storm that shuttered most petrochemical crackers along the Gulf Coast.

　　The EIA expects international demand for US ethane exports to also grow as more petrochemical crackers around the world are completed. US exports of ethane began in 2014, when the first export pipelines were completed, shipping ethane to petrochemical plants in Canada. Since then, more export capacity had been added, including three marine export terminals that ship cryogenically cooled ethane overseas in specially built tankers. The EIA expects ethane exports to grow more than 50%, from 300 000 bpd in 1Q21 to 460 000 bpd in 4Q22.