US energy giant, ConcoPhillips has agreed to pay 1 billion yuan for last year's Penglai 19-3 incident.
A boat joins the cleanup in the Bohai Sea Image: HBSell.com |
ConocoPhillips China (CNOC a joint venture between China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and ConocoPhillips, has reached an agreement with local Chinese authorities on compensation claims for the oil spill in the northern Bohai Bay area in June 2011.
The company will pay 1 billion yuan ($158 million) to the Ministry of Agriculture and the governments of Hebei and Liaoning, the two most affected provinces. On top of this amount, ConocoPhillips and CNOOC will also pay 100 million yuan ($15.8m) and 250 million yuan ($39.5m) to help restore local marine environment.
Some of the money will be used to help local fishermen, although how the compensation will be calculated and redistributed is not yet clear. Tian Jiguang, director of a Liaoning-based NGO, raised concerns about equable remuneration. According to Tian, most fishermen are “relatively isolated” and will not attribute smaller catches directly to the oil spill, meaning they could lose out on proper compensation.
The Penglai 19-3 oilfield, operated by CNOC, was responsible for a number of leaks which started in June last year. Situated in the northern Bohai Sea, the estimated polluted area is around 6,200 square kilometres, or nine times the size of Singapore.