The China State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said Tuesday that the oil leak from China’s largest offshore oilfield was the fault of field operator ConocoPhillips (COP.NYSE), Reuters reported. The leak, which Beijing admitted was more serious than originally claimed by ConocoPhillips and the field’s owner, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC; CEO.NYSE, 0883.HK), occurred in early June near platforms B and C of the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the northern Bohai Bay, and polluted 840 square kilometers of water. The SOA said that some 70 cubic meters of oil and water mixture had been cleaned up and there were no obvious signs of oil floating on the sea, apart from a small slick near the two platforms. According to Chinese law, ConocoPhillipps could be fined up to US$30,946 for the accident, but the deputy head of the SOA’s environmental protection department said that it would probably have to pay more in compensation for ecological and economic damage.
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