The MTBE export volume from the Laizhou Port Area of Yantai Port has surpassed 500,000 tons.

Recently, the Marshall Islands-registered vessel "Emerald Gem," carrying 15,000 tons of MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether), departed from berth no. 9 at the Laizhou Port area of Yantai Port, Shandong. This marked Laizhou Port Company's MTBE exports surpassing the milestone of 500,000 tons, setting a new historical high. The strong growth momentum has provided solid support for the company's accelerated development as a "distribution hub for niche chemical products."

Since the beginning of this year, Laizhou Port Company has adhered to a results-driven and performance-oriented approach, leveraging chain thinking to drive breakthroughs in its specialized businesses. Facing challenges such as market fluctuations and difficulties in exporting scattered cargoes, the company's petrochemical product marketing task force utilized advantages such as proximity to refining hubs and convenient transportation conditions. They extended services to the refining hubs in Dongying and Zibo, maintaining core refinery cargo sources. At the same time, they innovatively implemented the "breaking bulk and consolidating shipments for export" model, collaborating with domestic traders to consolidate MTBE from various refineries and batches at Laizhou Port. Through an integrated supply chain solution combining "road transport to port + dedicated tank assurance + consolidated shipment export," smaller cargoes were transformed into larger shipments for international export. This helped hinterland refining enterprises access international markets while reducing their overall logistics costs.

Before operations, the company's integrated petrochemical products task force collaborated with the on-site tank area for coordinated scheduling, establishing closed-loop processes for information sharing, tank capacity allocation, and operational scheduling, linking separate steps like berths, tank capacity, pipelines, and declarations. By coordinating with port authorities such as customs, maritime, and border inspection, they implemented pre-inspections and online declarations for vessels, achieving immediate operations upon arrival at the port. This minimized waiting and clearance times, ensuring fast turnaround for foreign trade vessels. During operations, strict adherence to tailored operation plans for each vessel was maintained, with measures such as dedicated lines, nitrogen sealing protection, and flow rate control implemented to ensure safety and efficiency simultaneously. The professional and standardized services have won praise from businesses.

"As of now, MTBE exports from the Laizhou Port area account for approximately 70% of the province's total exports in this category. We will continue to leverage port location and storage/transportation advantages, further expanding our chemical transshipment business and focusing on building Shandong into a hub for niche chemical product transshipment," said Wang Rui, the liquefied product business manager of Laizhou Port Company.