China's oil sector has established the Bohai Sea Offshore Oil Environmental Protection Company to tackle worsening oil leakage pollution in north China's Bohai Sea.

The bay of the Bohai Sea has been experiencing extensive offshore oil production and the oil turnover in Tianjin Port has been increasing fast, an expert with the company said.

Meanwhile, the frequency of collisions and wreckage of oil tankers in the Bohai Sea has also risen, resulting in severe oil leakage and pollution, the expert added.

He cited the case last year of a Maltese-registered oil tanker, whose oil leakage inflicted heavy damage and losses of more than 100 million yuan (12 million US dollars) on the offshore environment and marine life.

The newly established company, with advanced pollution treatment equipment, has mapped out a series of contingency plans to tackle oil pollution, the expert said.

In addition to oil pollution caused by oil tanker, blowouts and leaks in offshore oilfields also contributed to the severe pollution, the expert explained.

China now ranks third in the world in terms of marine oil transport volume and the country is expected to turn out 20 million tons of offshore crude oil annually in the next three years, he said, stressing that the establishment of the company was an indispensable measure to curb oil pollution in the Bohai Sea.

(China Daily March 5, 2003)