ConocoPhillips says north China oil leak at 1,500 barrels

ConocoPhillips China (part of ConocoPhillips, COP.NYSE) said that two leaking oilfield platforms in Bohai Bay are estimated to have spilled around 1,500 barrels of oil over the past month, state media reported. The leaking oil platforms were ordered to stop production on Wednesday, a move which the company says will lose it about 17,000 barrels of oil each day. The American company claims that the leak has been reduced to “no more than liters per day.” ConocoPhillips is using 3,000 meters of oil absorption columns and 33 vessels to contain the spill, none of which has yet reached the coast. However, government officials say about 3,400 square kilometers of the bay has been affected, with 840 sq km “seriously polluted.”