French chemical producer Arkema has signed a ten-year agreement with US energy company Enterprise Products Partners for the supply of shale gas-derived propylene to its US operations.

The propylene produced by Enterprise via propane dehydrogenation (PDH) will strengthen the competitiveness of its Coating Solutions segment, Arkema said. It added that the contract will account for a significant part of the propylene feedstock used by its US acrylics business and is part of its growth strategy for the US market.

Enterprise received its permits for the PDH project in May of this year, and already has begun construction. Start-up is planned for first half of 2016. The company is poised to carry out the first massive deliveries of ethane from the Appalachians to the US Gulf Coast. Its regional Aegis pipeline connects individual petrochemical sites in the states of Texas and Louisiana.