The ethane is still processed and sent on. Progit margins just sink. The “stockpiling of excess” comes at the final proccessor. Most end-point-processors are flexible enough to redirect the ethane into other products like ethylene glycol (anti-freeze). It’s just that their clients get the advantage of lower prices.
Example: Dow Chem is a large manufacturer of anti-freeze (ethylene glycol) which is in high demand at this time of year by airlines and airports. They can shift the ethane to their glycol product and way from their polyethylene (plastics, Saran Wrap) production.
It is more a economic decision about whether to sell ethane as a direct product, or just dump it into the rest of the “y” grade leftovers for next to nothing.
OK. What I was getting from the article was that it was undesireable to pipeline and that they were getting rid of it by some other means. Since "no flaring" is now the rule, I was wondering how.
I understand the (non-petroleum plant) chemical industry well, as I worked for just such a "diversified manufacturer" as you describe. And yes, there are a lot of places to put ethane to use once you get it into the plant(s).
What is the price differential in making ethanol from corn vs ethane? Does it cost too much to get rid of the methanol/butanol fraction from ethane-generated ethanol?