Oil spill firm to consider leak claims
By Lydia Chen |
August 25, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US-BASED oil firm ConocoPhillips said yesterday it has identified 10 oil leaks in an oilfield off China's northeast coast and agreed for the first time to consider demands for compensation.
At a press conference in Beijing, Georg Storaker, ConocoPhillips China president, said most were leaks from Platform C in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the Bohai Bay. The initial oil spill was detected in early June.
Storaker said that one of the two sources of the leaks, Platform B, had been sealed by lowering pressure, while the other, Platform C, will be sealed by the end of this month.
Storaker said that about 115 cubic meters or 700 barrels of crude oil spilled on the sea surface, while 2,500 barrels of oil-based mud had sunk to the seabed.
A small amount of oil was still leaking beneath the seabed, he said, but a device was installed on July 2 to collect the residual oil.
Stroraker said his firm "will consider it if there is any request for compensation."
So far there had been no claims, he said.
Stroraker apologized for the spill in China's biggest offshore oilfield, which is jointly operated by the Chinese unit of ConocoPhillips and the China National Offshore Oil Corp.
Last week, China's State Oceanic Administration said the measures taken by ConocoPhillips so far had been "limited to lowering pressure on the seabed and installing an oil containment device, which are temporary and remedial."
The statement added: "They have not eliminated oil spill risks effectively."
ConocoPhillips pledged last Friday to submit a plan to the administration on how it was going to carry out the cleanup and its plans to handle any environmental contamination in the future.
Meanwhile, Jia Fangyi, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Great Wall Law Firm, is demanding that ConocoPhillips and CNOOC set up a 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) compensation fund.
He has also filed a lawsuit in Beijing claiming the SOA was failing to control the damage caused by the leaks and had delayed reporting the incident to the public.
Fishermen in north China's Hebei Province were also preparing to sue as they believed the oil spills caused the deaths of large numbers of scallops.
At a press conference in Beijing, Georg Storaker, ConocoPhillips China president, said most were leaks from Platform C in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the Bohai Bay. The initial oil spill was detected in early June.
Storaker said that one of the two sources of the leaks, Platform B, had been sealed by lowering pressure, while the other, Platform C, will be sealed by the end of this month.
Storaker said that about 115 cubic meters or 700 barrels of crude oil spilled on the sea surface, while 2,500 barrels of oil-based mud had sunk to the seabed.
A small amount of oil was still leaking beneath the seabed, he said, but a device was installed on July 2 to collect the residual oil.
Stroraker said his firm "will consider it if there is any request for compensation."
So far there had been no claims, he said.
Stroraker apologized for the spill in China's biggest offshore oilfield, which is jointly operated by the Chinese unit of ConocoPhillips and the China National Offshore Oil Corp.
Last week, China's State Oceanic Administration said the measures taken by ConocoPhillips so far had been "limited to lowering pressure on the seabed and installing an oil containment device, which are temporary and remedial."
The statement added: "They have not eliminated oil spill risks effectively."
ConocoPhillips pledged last Friday to submit a plan to the administration on how it was going to carry out the cleanup and its plans to handle any environmental contamination in the future.
Meanwhile, Jia Fangyi, a lawyer with the Beijing-based Great Wall Law Firm, is demanding that ConocoPhillips and CNOOC set up a 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) compensation fund.
He has also filed a lawsuit in Beijing claiming the SOA was failing to control the damage caused by the leaks and had delayed reporting the incident to the public.
Fishermen in north China's Hebei Province were also preparing to sue as they believed the oil spills caused the deaths of large numbers of scallops.
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