Secret China Oil Spill In Bohai Sea Goes Unreported

A recent oil leak from the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the Bohai Sea occurred in early June yet the incident did not come to light until June 30, after the spill was largely contained. Penglai 19-3 is China's largest offshore oilfield, with daily production of roughly 160,000 barrels. US firm Conoco Phillips holds a 49% stake in the project while the state-run China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has 51%.

The spill began around June 10 but the two companies did not disclose the information. The first news came in a short message on a stock community website on June 21, which said that a major oil spill on a CNOOC platform had occurred. The story attracted scant attention, with less than 4,000 hits. The leaking platform is now under control and the retrieval of the spilled oil is now largely completed, a CNOOC official said. Since the incident took place in the middle of the gulf, it has not affected the surrounding seashore, the official added.

The Southern Weekend newspaper reported that Chinese agencies such as the State Oceanic Administration have monitored and guided the handling of the spill. It also said that the State Oceanic Administration will hold a news conference in early July to publish the results of the investigation. An expert said that as information of the incident has not been made public, he cannot correctly estimate the seriousness of the oil spill and its effect on the surrounding environment.

The Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea bounded by the Liaodong and Shandong peninsulas, is the major oil producing region for CNOOC. According to its first quarter report, the oil and liquid petroleum from the Bohai Sea accounts for more than 57% of CNOOC's total production.