Oil leak larger than expected
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China.org.cn, August 4, 2011
More oil-based drilling mud was found near ConocoPhillips's platform in Bohai Bay- a discovery that may push up the volume of the oil spill to a new high, the company said on Wednesday.
![A man points to oil on the beach in Laoting county, Hebei province, on July 26. The oil is suspected to have come from the oilfield spill in Bohai Bay. [China Daily]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110804/0014222d98500fa4401c14.jpg "A man points to oil on the beach in Laoting county, Hebei province, on July 26. The oil is suspected to have come from the oilfield spill in Bohai Bay. [China Daily]") |
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A man points to oil on the beach in Laoting county, Hebei province, on July 26. The oil is suspected to have come from the oilfield spill in Bohai Bay. [China Daily] |
The Houston-based energy company estimated earlier that about 1,500 to 2,000 barrels of oil and oil-based drilling fluids had gone into the sea during the two leaks at Penglai oilfield.
"We anticipate that it will push the total amount of oil and oil-based drilling mud released to pass the previous estimate numbers." the company said in a statement on its website.
The State Oceanic Administration used remote satellites, patrol planes and boats to survey the oilfield from Wednesday to Sunday, identifying a polluted area of approximately 1,200 square km in the oilfield.
The North China Sea Branch of the SOA issued a notice on Monday ordering the company to appropriately dispose of contaminants to avoid further pollution from the oil spill, which started on June 4 near Platform B of the Penglai 19-3 oilfield.
Oil-drilling operations in the field are jointly conducted by COPC, a subsidiary of U.S. energy giant ConocoPhilips, and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country's largest offshore oil producer.
