Oil giants barred from new projects after missing pollution targets

China's largest oil and gas producer, PetroChina, has been barred from expanding its refining and chemical production capacity.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said yesterday the energy giant had failed to meet its target for cutting chemical oxygen demand (COD) - a measure of organic pollutants from waste water in rivers and lakes.

The fresh blow came after it emerged this week that three of its senior officials were being investigated by Beijing authorities for alleged discipline violations.

Another state energy giant, China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec), missed its target for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions.

The ministry said it had halted all environmental impact approvals for construction of refineries and chemical plants by the two companies as well as overhaul and expansion projects, apart from those that would upgrade fuel quality, conserve energy and cut pollution.

Xinhua, citing data from the ministry, reported that PetroChina's COD emissions fell 0.08 per cent last year, short of its target of a cut of 0.6 per cent, while Sinopec's nitrogen oxide discharges grew by 1.28 per cent, against its goal of zero growth.

In a comment piece, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily said some of PetroChina and Sinopec's operating units were still implementing emission standards from 17 years ago, and that some had faked pollution data.