Approximately 173,000 barrels of Marcellus Shale ethane set sail Wednesday, marking the first export shipment of the liquid used in plastics manufacturing that is derived from natural-gas production.

According to a Philly.com report, the shipment from Sunoco Logistics Partners’ Marcus Hook terminal is bound for a petrochemical plant in Norway.

The barrels, which had been delivered to Delaware County from Western Pennsylvania through the Mariner East pipeline, were loaded onto the JS Ineos Intrepid, one of eight 575-foot tankers commissioned by European chemical manufacturer Ineos.

Ineos and a second European petrochemical company have signed long-term agreements to export Marcellus Shale natural-gas liquids. Their deals come on the heels of American politicians championing the export of ethane as critical to increasing shale-gas development.

Sunoco spokesman Jeff Shields said that the first shipment of ethane is “another signal that the Mariner East project has begun to fulfill its promise.”

Sunoco has committed $2.5 billion to the 300-mile Mariner East pipeline network to transport liquid fuels to the Marcus Hook terminal, which was erected on the site of a former oil refinery. Ineos, in turn, has spent $1 billion to complete the link between Marcus Hook and Europe by creating a “virtual pipeline” of tankers to ferry ethane across the Atlantic Ocean to plants in Norway and Scotland.

Click here to read more about Sunoco’s initial export of Marcellus Shale ethane on Philly.com.