ConocoPhillips fails to stop leaks, halts operations on gov't order
Date:
September 05, 2011 
US oil firm ConocoPhillips said yesterday it will suspend production at the Penglai 19-3 offshore oilfield in compliance with the order by China's maritime authority after missing a deadline to seal off oil leaks, according to a report in the Shanghai Daily.
ConocoPhillips China, a wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, has been taking "certain steps" to suspend production activities at the leaked field, after receiving an order from the State Oceanic Administration, the company said in a statement yesterday.
It said it is developing a compliance plan with its co-investor in the field, China National Offshore Oil Corp, and will be submitting it to the SOA shortly.
Activities that are related to depressurizing the field will continue in a safe and environmentally responsible way, it said.
A ConocoPhillips employee admitted on Friday that the company was "cheating" China's authority when it announced on Wednesday that the oil producer had met a requirement to seal the sources of two oil spills that began in June.
"Yes we cheated you, cheated you," an anonymous staff member told a China Central Television reporter when interviewed by phone.
However, ConocoPhilips denied in an online statement last night that its employee made such remarks and demanded a correction from CCTV.
The SOA on Thursday found the leaks were not fully sealed as the US company had claimed, and ordered it to immediately stop drilling and halt oil and gas production at the oilfield. The State Oceanic Administration also ordered ConocoPhillips to take "strong and effective" measures to seal the sources of the spills and prevent further leaks.
Two oil spills at Penglai 19-3 field since June have released approximately 700 barrels of oil into the sea and 2,500 barrels of mineral oil-based drilling mud onto the seabed, the company said. Leaked oil has spread up to 5,500 square kilometers in Bohai Bay, a main fisheries region.
ConocoPhillips China, a wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, has been taking "certain steps" to suspend production activities at the leaked field, after receiving an order from the State Oceanic Administration, the company said in a statement yesterday.
It said it is developing a compliance plan with its co-investor in the field, China National Offshore Oil Corp, and will be submitting it to the SOA shortly.
Activities that are related to depressurizing the field will continue in a safe and environmentally responsible way, it said.
A ConocoPhillips employee admitted on Friday that the company was "cheating" China's authority when it announced on Wednesday that the oil producer had met a requirement to seal the sources of two oil spills that began in June.
"Yes we cheated you, cheated you," an anonymous staff member told a China Central Television reporter when interviewed by phone.
However, ConocoPhilips denied in an online statement last night that its employee made such remarks and demanded a correction from CCTV.
The SOA on Thursday found the leaks were not fully sealed as the US company had claimed, and ordered it to immediately stop drilling and halt oil and gas production at the oilfield. The State Oceanic Administration also ordered ConocoPhillips to take "strong and effective" measures to seal the sources of the spills and prevent further leaks.
Two oil spills at Penglai 19-3 field since June have released approximately 700 barrels of oil into the sea and 2,500 barrels of mineral oil-based drilling mud onto the seabed, the company said. Leaked oil has spread up to 5,500 square kilometers in Bohai Bay, a main fisheries region.
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