Traces of oil from spills at the mainland's largest offshore oilfield have washed ashore on two beaches along the Bohai Sea some 170 kilometres away, prompting fears of an ecological catastrophe.
It was the first time the mainland's marine authorities have confirmed that small globs of oil that leaked from the Penglai 19-3 oilfield over a month ago have been found on the northeastern coast.
Environmentalists expressed disappointment with the clean-up effort, which appears to have failed to prevent the spills from reaching the coast. They also voiced concerns that the disaster may cause far greater damage to people living along the coast and the marine environment.
Citing the State Oceanic Administration's north sea branch, Xinhua said chemical analysis showed that blobs of congealed oil found at beaches in Hebei and Liaoning originated from the site of spills at the mouth of Bohai Bay.
The authorities have begun cleaning up small tar balls up to four centimetres in diameter scattered along a four-kilometre section of Dongdaihe beach in Liaoning and Qianshuiwan beach in Hebei, both close to the summer resort of Beidaihe .
It is not immediately clear how much damage the spills will inflict on the coastal areas, but analysts said the pollution may deal a devastating blow to local economies heavily reliant on fishing and tourism.