Fish farms protest oilfield restart

More than 200 farmers in North China's Hebei Province have petitioned the country's top economic planner to suspend offshore oil operations by US firm ConocoPhillips in Bohai Bay, farmers and lawyers confirmed Tuesday.

A total of 208 fish farmers in the Caofeidian district of Tangshan in Hebei, who claim to be victims of oil spills from the Conoco-operated field in Bohai Bay, are asking the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to take back oil drilling rights from ConocoPhillips, according to a letter obtained by the Global Times Tuesday from lawyers acting on behalf of the farmers.

The Caofeidian farmers also asked the NDRC to order ConocoPhillips to compensate for losses caused by pollution from the oil spills.

They claimed they lost about 500 million yuan ($80.45 million) from damage to their fisheries, but unlike farmers in nearby Laoting county, they received no compensation, according to the letter.

The letter comes on the heels of ConocoPhillips resuming operation in the Penglai oilfield in February after the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) approved the field's revised development and production plan and environmental impact assessment following the oil spills.

The spills, which began in June 2011 and lasted three months, leaked around 3,200 barrels of oil and oil-based mud, contaminating 5,500 square kilometers of water.

The Penglai 19-3 oilfield, China's largest offshore oilfield, is operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and its US partner ConocoPhillips. It was shut down by the SOA in September 2011.

In April 2012, ConocoPhillips China agreed to pay 1.2 billion yuan and CNOOC agreed to pay 480 million yuan in compensation for damage to the region's marine ecology and environment.

Yu Qingbao, one of the petitioners from Caofeidian, told the Global Times that the oil spills killed many of his fish, shrimp and crabs and cost him 1 million yuan, equivalent to his average yearly income.

"We want the company to pay for our loss before they resume their operation," Yu said.

According to Yu, the farmers petitioned the NDRC in November and December with no success, and hope their issue will be addressed after the new head of the NDRC takes office.

Xu Shaoshi, former land and resources minister, was appointed to lead the NDRC Saturday.

"In an oil spill as serious as the one caused by ConocoPhillips, Chinese authorities should order CNOOC to terminate the contract with ConocoPhillips and take back the oilfield and compensate all damages to the farmers," Xia Jun, a lawyer at Beijing-based Zhongzi Law Office, told the Global Times.

"The NDRC has the power to enforce such an order to stop the nation from suffering further losses," Xia said.

The NDRC did not respond to a request for comment from the Global Times by press time Tuesday.