A top official from the China National Petroleum
Corporation (CNPC) was dismissed from his post following a
deadly gas well blowout on December 23, 2003, which killed 243
people.
The removal of Wu Yaowen, deputy general manager of CNPC, was
announced at a CNPC executive meeting on Tuesday in Beijing by
General Manager Ma Fucai. CNPC is China's largest crude oil and
refinery producer, whose shares are listed in the New York Stock
Exchange.
The decision to oust Wu, 60, came directly from the State-owned
Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), a State
Council department in charge of the country's 141 large State-owned
firms.
The commission also appointed three new faces, Zhou Jiping, Duan
Wende and Wang Yilin, as CNPC deputy general managers.
According to a report by the Beijing Star Daily, Mu
Fucai did not reveal the reason for Wu's dismissal, but insiders
say Wu was forced to "retire" early, taking accountability for the
December 23 tragedy.
As many as 243 villagers in rural Kaixian County, Southwest
China's Chongqing Municipality, were poisoned to death, after a
CNPC gas well explosion that released toxic gas. A large number of
animals and poultry were also killed.
When inquired by reporters, CNPC officials declined to link the
decision with the Chongqing accident, which has been dubbed as one
of the deadliest gas blowouts in global mining history.
CNPC sent Su Shulin, another deputy general manager, to Kaixian
on December 28 to apologize to the injured and victims' families.
State media reported a total of 10 million yuan (US$1.21 million)
was given to the families of the victims as compensation.
The accident, blamed on negligence, has triggered widespread
grievances from the ordinary Chinese. Popular Internet chat
room-goers criticized the government's safety enforcement measures,
especially with the mining industry.
Although the Chinese government has strengthened supervision at
small, private firms, industry analysts argue that many problems
still exist in workplace safety at SOE flagships.
Hundreds of poorly run, small, private mines were closed last
year after a series of mine blasts and floods took the lives of
hundreds of workers.
Meanwhile, two were detained by local public security for the
deadly blowout, according to a report Friday by Xinhua News
Agency.
The local public security has detained Wang Jiandong, an
engineer from the drilling research institute of the Sichuan Oil
Administration and director in charge of the No. 16 gas well in
Kaixian County, and Song Tao, technician of the No. 12 crew of the
Chuandong Drilling Company, said the report.
Also under investigation are Wang Jiandong, head of the No. 12
crew of the Chuandong Drilling Company, Xiang Yiming, a driller of
the company, and Wu Hua, vice-manager of the company.
(China Daily January 10, 2004)