Orders of China offshore oil risks review after spill (AP)

SHANGHAI – China's Ocean Administration ordered oil companies operating offshore wells to assess risks of incidents along its eastern coast two falls in a field operated by American energy giant ConocoPhillips.

Oceanic State Administration issued a warning Friday, saying the offshore petroleum producers should investigate thoroughly all risks, review their contingency plans and reassess the impact of their operations.

Off-shore operators should learn from the incident and "comprehensively and deeply investigate the risks of oil spill and rectify them," he said.

The falls, which covered 840 square kilometres (324 square miles) in the field of Penglai 19-3 oil in Bohai Bay, drew criticism from environmentalists and local media over the potential damage to the environment and the apparent delay in informing the public.

But China ConocoPhillips, which manages seven platforms of production in the area of Bohai Penglai, defended reply, saying responded quickly to the loss of both and informed the authorities the day that they were.

Earlier this week, Houston-based ConocoPhillips and its Chinese partners in State-owned CNOOC Ltd., said they stopped both the losses and the cleanup work was almost finished.

The delay in announcing the details of the leak, which was first noticed on 4 June, was in part due to the difficulty of tracing the seepage from a natural fault, they said, noting that such losses are rare and had not been seen before in the Bohai Sea.

The Oceanic Administration ordered operators of offshore platform to assess risks from injection water in oil tanks. Losses last month occurred when that work was underway.

ConocoPhillips said it had suspended the injection of water and drilling until it ends its investigation and would change its operational practices to prevent the recurrence of this problem.

State Oceanic Administration said 3,000 metres (3,300 feet) of arms and other equipment were deployed to help clean up the spill.

The oilfield Penglai 19-3, largest field off China, has been jointly developed by China ConocoPhillips and CNOOC Ltd. The U.S. partner holds 49 percent of the field and its operator, while the Chinese partner has 51 percent.

The spill has raised concern about the potential long-term impact on the fishing industry was very active in the area.

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