PetroChina unit in Shaanxi shut after pipeline rupture leaks oil into reservoir

A PetroChina unit in Shaanxi has been shut down after oil from a ruptured pipeline contaminated a source of drinking water for 200,000 residents of the city of Yanan .

The 100-kilometre pipeline, which runs upstream of the Wangyao Reservoir in Zhidan county, was damaged during a landslide sometime before Monday, when the leak was discovered, the local government said.

It is unknown how much oil reached the reservoir, which has a capacity of 200 cubic metres and serves some 200,000 residents. An estimated 13 tonnes of oil was lost during a similar leak from the same pipeline last week.

Nearly 2,000 workers, including 300 from PetroChina and 1,500 from the local government office, have been sent to repair the pipeline and contain the spill. It took 11 hours to repair last week's leak.

The city government shut PetroChina's pipelines, wells and storage facilities near the reservoir to protect the water supply, said China Business News. It has begun drawing its drinking water from another reservoir.

PetroChina's Beijing-based spokesman Mao Zefeng , said it was trying to contact the local unit for more details.