More than 30 Illegal Oil and Gas Platforms Uncovered Offshore China

Chinese patrols have uncovered more than 30 illegal platforms used for oil and gas exploration, state news agency Xinhua reported Monday.

The agency quoted a source with the South China Sea branch of the State Oceanic Administration as saying a China Marine Surveillance patrol team recently finished its third mission targeted at the illegal exploration of oil and gas in the South China Sea.

Six surveillance ships inspected oil fields in the East China Sea and the Chunxiao and Pinghu gas fields close to the Diaoyu islands on March 16, Xinhua said. The Diaoyu islands, known as Senkaku in Japanese, are the subject of a boundary dispute between Japan and China.

The Chinese fleet included the Haijian 66 ship, which the SOA said "successfully kept the unauthorized Japanese survey ships out of the East China Sea waters under Chinese jurisdiction," according to Xinhua.

The patrol team focused on searching for and monitoring illegal offshore oil and gas extraction platforms, discovering more than 30 illegal platforms in total, the SOA source said.

The South Sea fleet of the CMS force has intensified its patrols in the South China Sea in recent years, conducting nearly three times as many missions in 2011 as it did in 2008, Xinhua said.

Oil and gas activity offshore China has been in the spotlight since an oil spill in the Bohai Bay at the Peng Lai 19-3 field last year. The field, producing 122,000 b/d at the time, remains shut-in pending approval of new development and environmental plans by the authorities. US company ConocoPhillips is operator with 49%, partnering state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation with the remaining 51%.

(Platts.com, Edited by Topco)