Oil Spills Contaminate China's Bohai Sea, Could Lead to Revisions in Marine Law

摘要

More than 4,240 square kilometers (1,637 square miles) of ocean have been contaminated by oil spills from two platforms operated by ConocoPhillips in the Bohai Sea off northeast China, the State Oceanic Administration said July 18. The agency has said it will fine ConocoPhillips China 200,000 yuan ($30,950), the maximum allowed under the country's Marine Environmental Protection Law. ConocoPhillips China operated the two platforms in the Penglai 19-3 oil field where the spills started in early June. The oil spill could lead to revisions in the law, Liu Jiayi, a research fellow at the China Institute for Marine Affairs, told the state-run newspaper Legal Daily July 12.