CNOOC to found marine protection non-profit

Beijing (CNS) -- The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced on Thursday evening that it has submitted an application to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to create a special non-profit foundation to protect China's marine environment and ecology.

As the initiator, CNOOC donated 500 million yuan to the foundation, which will be independent of public funding and will operate basically on voluntary donations contributed by its sub companies.

The foundation is expected to support environmental protection and ecological recovery projects in coastal areas, avoid the environmental harm that often accompanies marine resource exploitation, and fund scientific studies and public education campaigns on sustainable marine development. Areas of particular interest include maintaining the complete ecological chain, multiplying endangered marine species, and constructing protection zones for marine organisms.

CNOOC has been found responsible for several oil leaks this year, in the Bohai Bay and the Hengqin Island of Zhuhai, in south China's Guangdong Province.