By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, June 11 (Reuters) - An ethane tanker that

loaded in the United States headed to India on Wednesday, ship

tracking data showed, after Washington required U.S. exporters

to seek licenses to ship the shale gas to top buyer China.

Around half of all U.S. ethane exports head to China, where

it is used by the petrochemical industry. The vessel's change in

destination underscores how the fallout from trade tensions

between the United States and China is shifting ethane flows.

Liberia-flagged STL Qianjiang, which loaded at Energy

Transfer's ( ET ) Nederland terminal for China's Satellite

Chemical, signaled Dahej, a port on the West Coast

of India, as its destination, according to LSEG and Kpler ship

tracking data.

The final buyer of the cargo is India's Reliance Industries

, Kpler data showed, citing the vessel's bill of

lading.

The ship has traversed only between the United States and

Satellite Chemical's Lianyungang petrochemical facility since

July 2022, according to historic data on Kpler.

Energy Transfer ( ET ), Satellite Chemical and Reliance did not

immediately reply to a request for a comment.

Energy Transfer ( ET ) and Enterprise Products Partners ( EPD ),

two of the top U.S. ethane producers and exporters, said they

have received letters from the U.S. Commerce Department

requiring the companies to apply for a license to ship ethane to

China.

Enterprise said it also received a notice from the U.S.

government of its intent to deny emergency requests for three

proposed export cargoes of ethane totaling around 2.2 million

barrels to China.

Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane as a feedstock

because it is a cheaper alternative than naphtha, while U.S. oil

and gas producers need China to buy their natural gas liquids as

domestic supply exceeds demand.