CNOOC reports third oil spill into Bohai Bay in less than two months

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation, plagued by a string of recent accidents and accusations of cover-ups, has been hit by a new spill off the mainland's northern coast.

It is the third spill that the country's biggest offshore oil and gas producer has reported in Bohai Bay in less than two months. It comes a day after a fire broke out at a CNOOC refinery near the Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong.

The State Oceanic Administration said the leak occurred early yesterday morning in the Suizhong 36-1 oilfield, when its central platform was hit by a control system breakdown. Up to 0.15 cubic metres of oil leaked into the water, affecting an area of about one square kilometre, the administration said, citing initial estimates by CNOOC's Tianjin branch.

CNOOC was trying to contain the spill, using oil absorbent mats and dispersant, according to a statement on the administration's website.

The administration had sent a helicopter and used satellite remote sensing to monitor the spill, it added.

Analysts said the spill once again exposed worrying safety loopholes in the oil giant's offshore oil drilling and processing. CNOOC was hit by two major spills at the country's largest offshore oilfield, off the coast of Shandong , last month. At least 840 square kilometres of sea was polluted, causing 'a certain level' of damage to the nearby oceanic environment, the administration said.