MTBE exports from Laizhou Port Area of Yantai Port surpass 500,000 tons.

Recently, the Marshall Islands-registered vessel "Emerald Gem," carrying 15,000 tons of MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether), departed from berth No. 9 in the Laizhou Port Area of Yantai Port in Shandong Province. This marks the Laizhou Port Company's MTBE export volume surpassing the 500,000-ton milestone, setting a historic record. The strong growth momentum solidifies the company's accelerated construction of a "small-scale chemical product distribution hub."

Since the beginning of this year, Laizhou Port Company has adhered to a principle of solid work and performance-driven results, promoting the breakthrough development of specialty businesses with chain-thinking. Facing challenges such as market fluctuations and difficulties in exporting scattered cargo, the company's oil and chemical product marketing task force leveraged advantages like proximity to the petrochemical cluster area and convenient transportation conditions. They provided services upfront to the Dongying and Zibo petrochemical cluster areas to stabilize core refinery inventory cargo. Meanwhile, they innovatively implemented a "breaking bulk, ship pooling for exports" model, coordinating with domestic traders to consolidate MTBE originating from different refineries and batches at the Laizhou Port area. Through an integrated supply chain solution of "highway cargo consolidation + dedicated tank guarantees + ship pooling for exports," they combined small-batch cargo into ton-level export volumes, helping hinterland petrochemical companies gain access to international markets and reducing overall logistics costs for enterprises.

Before operations, the company's integrated oil and chemical product task force collaborated with port-side tank areas for coordinated scheduling, connecting information sharing, tank capacity allocation, and operations scheduling into a closed-loop process encompassing berth, tank capacity, pipelines, and customs declaration. In partnership with customs, maritime, and border inspection authorities, they implemented pre-inspections for vessels and online declarations to enable "work upon arrival," substantially reducing waiting and clearance times. During operations, the company strictly adhered to an "individualized ship plan" assurance protocol, implementing initiatives such as dedicated management and pipelines, nitrogen sealing protection, and flow rate control to ensure simultaneous safety and efficiency. The professional and standardized services earned praise from businesses.

"As of now, the total MTBE export volume from the Laizhou Port area accounts for approximately 70% of the province's exports in this category. We will continue to leverage the port's location and storage and transportation advantages to expand the chemical turnover business and strive to build Shandong into a hub for the transit of small-scale chemical products," said Wang Rui, the manager of liquid chemical business at Laizhou Port Company.