ConocoPhillips suspected of oil spill yet again

ConocoPhillips China is yet again suspected of leaking crude oil, as oil contamination has been spotted at Lvshankou Village and several nearby villages of Shandong's Tuoji Island, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Thursday.

A ConocoPhillips ship was seen in this maritime area around March 22 of this year, dragging a long string of oil absorbent mats, the report read, citing the villagers of Tuoji Island.

Wang Zhongguo, a representative of the 204 fisherman at Shandong's Changdao County, also confirmed the existence of oil spills and absorbent mats in nearby villages by April 10. Wang also shot a five-minute video documenting the situation.

The newly found oil spill is suspected to have occurred at the Penglai 19-3 oil field, which was in fact also responsible for the previous two ConocoPhillips oil leaks and was cleared to resume production in February.

So far, the source of the oil spill has yet to be confirmed. ConocoPhillips on Thursday denied the new oil spill at its Penglai 19-3 oil field through a statement published on its website.

In June 2011, two serious oil spills occurred at the Penglai 19-3 oil field, a field operated under a Production Sharing Contract. ConocoPhillips China runs the field and holds a 49-percent stake in its ownership. The remaining 51 percent stake is owned by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). More than 720 barrels of crude oil and over 110,000 gallons of mineral oil-based drilling mud were leaked into the sea. ConocoPhillips was ordered to pay one billion yuan in compensation.

However, 500 fishermen from Shandong province, who were not covered by the abovementioned compensation, sued ConocoPhillips in a U.S. court and asked for at least US$50,000 per capita in payment. The U.S. court is expected to rule in June.

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