US oil giant tried to cover up spill China paper
BEIJING - One of the most influential newspapers in China on Monday accused U.S. oil giant behind a huge outpouring of the East Coast, trying to cover up the disaster.
The strongly worded article in the People's Daily - Communist Party spokesman - said ConocoPhillips had shown "indifference" to damage the environment and issued misleading statements about the spill.
On Friday, the maritime watchdog ordered the company to stop operations in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield,. Grande and the source of the leak in the Bohai Bay, which has caused popular anger in China
ConocoPhillips, which says that the equivalent of 3,200 barrels spilled into the sea, said on Sunday it was working to end its operations on the field of "safe and timely manner and in a manner that preserves the integrity of operating the field."
A statement on the website of China ConocoPhillips said it was working to complete Monday's close, but a company spokesman said by telephone Monday were not able to confirm if this had been done.
People's Daily said the company had made efforts to protect the public image of environmental protection in the months since the spill was made public in early June.
"There is a marked contrast between the sensitivity of the company in terms of his image and his indifference to the marine environment," said the column, the People's Daily commentator Jiang Hongbing.
"After repeated delays and a series of cover-ups and deceit, production in the Penglai 19-3 oil field ConocoPhillips has finally been ordered to stop."
A spokesman for ConocoPhillips said the company, which is co-owner of the Penglai 19-3 oilfield with the state oil company China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), said: "We reported the incident to the appropriate authorities immediately and completely as we could. "
"We are the operator and accept full responsibility for what happened in the field," said John Roper AFP by telephone.
CNOOC's shares fell 8.6 percent in early trading in Hong Kong on Monday, as traders assessed the effect of closing the production of oil supplies to feed the growing demand from China for oil to produce energy.
On Sunday, CNOOC said the suspension of production in the oil field would reduce production by about 40,000 barrels per day.
The operations of two platforms at the site have been detained since July 13 by order of government, resulting in a reduction of 22,000 barrels per day, CNOOC said US oil giant tried to cover up spill China paper
