Response to PL19-3 Incidents
The two oil spill events that occurred at Penglai 19-3 in June 2011 were unfortunate events that were uncharacteristic of our long history of operating in China.
ConocoPhillips China (COPC) and its co-venturer CNOOC took prompt and effective clean up measures to address the 2011 spill in the Bohai Sea. In addition, claims relating to ecological damage or economic impacts arising from the spill were settled in 2012 with Chinese governmental agencies, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).
Response to the 2011 Penglai 19-3 Oil Spills
What Happened
In June of 2011, ConocoPhillips, as operator, experienced two unrelated releases of fluids at two separate wellhead platform locations in the Penglai 19-3 oilfield.
The first incident occurred during water injection operations that caused a release of oil via a natural geological fault connecting to the sea bed.
The second release was due to a well control incident that occurred while drilling into a fault block containing high reservoir pressure. The result was a release of oil to the surface and mineral oil-based drilling mud to the sea floor in the operating area.
ConocoPhillips estimates that the total amount of material released from the two events was approximately 723 barrels (115 cubic meters) of oil and 2,620 barrels (416 cubic meters) of mineral oil-based drilling mud. ConocoPhillips, with the assistance of our co-venturer CNOOC, quickly mobilized spill response equipment to address the source of the leaks and clean up the spilled oil and mineral oil-based drilling mud. The effective response, undertaken with the oversight of the SOA, mitigated potential impacts to the ecology of the Bohai Sea.
How we cleaned up
Upon discovery of the releases, ConocoPhillips reported the situation to the appropriate authorities, deployed its emergency response teams and developed a cleanup program to limit potential impact to the Bohai Sea. Through its response actions, the seep sources were identified and sealed. Under the on-site supervision of the SOA, an extensive program to cleanup surface sheens and the mixture of oil and mineral oil-based drilling mud on the sea floor around Wellhead Platform C was implemented. A variety of cleanup methods and equipment to contain and recover the surface sheens and cleanup the sea floor in the operating area were employed. 
The response measures included:
- Mobilizing skimmer vessels, absorbent oil booms, and other collection devices to remove the highest amount possible of floating oil.
- Reducing reservoir pressure, allowing the fault near Wellhead Platform B to seal itself and quickly stop the seep.
- Fabricating and installing a containment system on the seabed to capture remaining traces of oil trapped in shallow sediments around Wellhead Platforms B and C.
- Drilling a horizontal well parallel to the fault and pumping in cement as an extra protective measure to seal the fault near Wellhead Platform C.
- Mobilizing divers and diver support personnel over a period of months to vacuum, and as much as possible, dispose of the mineral oil-based drilling mud from the sea floor near Wellhead Platform C.
In an abundance of caution, significant resources were mobilized:
- 900 employees, contractors and volunteers were involved in the response and cleanup efforts.
- 35 fishing and tug boats, skimmers and dive support vessels supported cleanup activities.
- 3,500 meters of absorbent and inflatable boom were deployed to contain the sheen.
- Over 100 divers were involved in 1,463 dives related to the survey, cleanup and containment activities. This all happened with no injuries whatsoever.
- The entire shoreline of the Bohai Sea was surveyed by vehicle and on foot.
Key Event Timeline
| 2011 | |
|---|---|
| June 4, 2011 | Oil was observed on the water’s surface near Peng Lai 19-3 Wellhead Platform B (the B-Event). ConocoPhillips China (COPC) immediately deployed skimmers, absorbent booms and other clean-up equipment. Relevant Chinese government authorities and the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), our co-venturer, were notified immediately. Once the source was determined to be an existing geological fault that opened slightly due to pressure from water injection into a subsurface reservoir during production activities, COPC began reducing reservoir pressure to seal the source. Design work, modeling and construction progressed at an incredibly fast paced to safely develop a steel subsea capture structure for future deployment at the "B" site seep. |
| June 17, 2011 | An unanticipated high-pressure zone was encountered at a water injection well at Peng Lai 19-3 Wellhead Platform C (the C-Event). The C-Event was separate and unrelated to the B-Event. The well was immediately shut-in to ensure no danger to the personnel or the platform, but the pressure caused reservoir fluids and mineral oil-based drilling mud to flow to the seabed. COPC was immediately engaged with relevant Chinese government authorities and CNOOC. |
| June 18, 2011 | Employees began patrolling the shoreline to identify any risk to the coast and to ensure immediate action in the event some of the oil was carried towards the shore by the current. The patrols continued until October. |
| June 19, 2011 | Employees began patrolling the shoreline to identify any risk to the coast and to ensure immediate action in the event some of the oil was carried towards the shore by the current. The patrols continued until October. |
| June 21, 2011 | The reservoir pressure reduction plan at the location of the B-Event successfully closed the fault thereby isolating the reservoir from the surface and stopping the seepage. From the start of the B-Event on June 4 to June 21 approximately 100 barrels (18 cubic meters) of oil seeped from the previously inactive fault. |
| July 3, 2011 | As an additional precautionary measure, a steel subsea seep containment structure was placed over the seep at the B-Event. |
| July 5, 2011 | Divers launched a dive program to vacuum up mineral oil-based drilling mud (MOBM) from the seabed. |
| July 19, 2011 | COPC invited a group of reporters to tour the Peng Lai field to see the ongoing clean-up process and current conditions. |
| July 22, 2011 | COPC launched a dedicated incidents website to provide the local community and the broader public with information on the incidents and the status of the response activities. |
| Aug 6, 2011 | To ensure the safety of those involved, all clean-up efforts were suspended as a typhoon approached Bohai Bay. |
| Aug 10, 2011 | Typhoon Muifa subsided and clean-up operations resumed. |
| Aug 31, 2011 | COPC filed its report responding to State Oceanic Administration (SOA) orders 11 and 13. |
| Sep 2, 2011 | COPC suspended all production, water injection and drilling operations in the Peng Lai 19-3 Field in accordance with SOA Order 582. In compliance with Order 582 COPC continued clean-up efforts, focused on ensuring oil seep sources were sealed, prepared a new marine environmental impact report for the oil field, and developed a plan for further reducing reservoir pressure. |
| Sep 6, 2011 | ConocoPhillips announced it was committed to providing fair and reasonable compensation for damages arising from the incidents. |
| Sep 11, 2011 | CNOOC authorized COPC to implement plans to further depressurize the reservoir and take additional precautionary measures to seal seep sources in the Peng Lai 19-3 Field. |
| Sep 12, 2011 | COPC began a new phase of depressurization activities at the B-Event. |
| Sep 14, 2011 | As an extra protective measure to ensure the fault was sealed, COPC drilled a horizontal well parallel to the fault. Cement began being pumped into the well on October 8 and was completed by October 14. |
| Sep 18, 2011 | ConocoPhillips announced it had set aside funds to support future environmental initiatives that enhance the Bohai Bay. |
| Oct 12, 2011 | Shoreline surveillance teams demobilized. In total, the teams covered nearly 155,000 kilometers of shoreline by vehicle and 8,500 kilometers on foot. While patrolling, the teams picked up and disposed of more than 16,000 kg (35,000 lbs) of trash and debris along beaches. A total of 83 oily samples were identified during the shoreline surveillance process; quantitative fingerprinting conducted by the most advanced testing laboratories in the world revealed that only three samples contained similar chemistry to the source oil at Peng Lai 19-3 (these were found on the northeast coastline near Suizhong and Qinhuangdao). The remaining samples were unrelated to Peng Lai 19-3. |
| Dec 21, 2011 | ConocoPhillips held a series of official media briefings in Beijing to provide an update on issues related to the incidents and answer questions related to the response. |
| 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2012 | ConocoPhillips, together with CNOOC, announced an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture to settle public and private claims of potentially affected fishermen in relevant Bohai Bay communities. Under this agreement, RMB 1 billion (approximately US $160 million) was paid to the MOA. The MOA is administering the disbursement of these funds. ConocoPhillips also designated RMB 100 million (approximately US $16 million) to help improve fishery resources – this is being administered by the MOA. |
| Feb 1, 2012 | ConocoPhillips made the first payment to the Ministry of Agriculture in accordance with the January agreement. |
| Feb 1, 2012 | ConocoPhillips continued ongoing de-pressurization and reservoir management under CNOOC's supervision. The program continued through March. |
| Mar 30, 2012 | ConocoPhillips completed the payment to the Ministry of Agriculture in accordance with the terms of the agreement. |
| Apr 16, 2012 | With the end of winter in Bohai Bay, ConocoPhillips launched a spring environmental assessment program to review environmental conditions at Peng Lai 19-3. |
| Apr 27, 2012 | ConocoPhillips, together with CNOOC, announced an agreement with the State Oceanic Administration. Based on the agreement, the SOA will receive RMB 1.090 billion (USD $173 million) to resolve claims related to the possible impacts on the Bohai Bay marine environment. As part of this agreement, COPC also committed RMB 113 million (approximately US $18 million) to a fund being administered by the SOA, to support initiatives that enhance marine ecological protection and reduce pollutants in the bay. |
Understanding the Impact
In addition to implementing immediate and effective response and cleanup measures, ConocoPhillips sought the assistance of leading international scientists to assess potential environmental impact from the incidents. The Chinese government also conducted its own assessment of the potential environmental impact of the incidents.
- Three world-leading independent scientific assessment bodies evaluated the environmental impact of the incidents.
- 163,456 km of shoreline was surveyed by vehicle and on foot.
- Environmental Assessment Program was carried out for two years after the spill.
ConocoPhillips retained a team of experts that included:
- NewFields: a world-renowned and industry-leading expert in chemical analysis and fingerprinting of oil and oil-stained water, sediment and biota samples. NewFields has worked on a number of high-profile environmental assessment projects internationally. At Penglai, ConocoPhillips engaged NewFields to perform chemical testing and fingerprinting of water, sediment and biota samples.
- Applied Science Associates (ASA): a world-renowned and industry-leading expert in environmental damage assessment modeling. ASA has performed multiple oil spill environmental damage assessments for the United States government. ConocoPhillips engaged ASA to perform environmental impact assessment modeling to determine the potential environmental impact from the two spill events on the Bohai Sea.
- Continental Shelf Associates (CSA): a world-renowned, industry-leading marine biology and oil spill expert. CSA has performed multiple oil spill impact assessments for the United States government. ConocoPhillips engaged CSA to assist in conducting the water, sediment and biota sampling in the Bohai Sea following the two spill events.
Scientific Study
The team of experts carried out an extensive study of the aquatic environment within a 225 kilometer radius of the two releases and along the Bohai Sea shoreline. The nature and geographic extent of any potential impact from the two incidents was determined through the collection of sediment, sediment profile images, water, plankton, fish, shellfish and other species, as well as an assessment of conditions along the Bohai Sea shoreline.
Oil spill trajectory modeling was also conducted to evaluate the fate of released oil and mineral oil-based mud, as well as the likely concentrations of oil in the water column over time as the sheens moved away from the platforms following the incidents.
| Conclusion |
The team of internationally recognized experts concluded that there was no lasting adverse environmental impact on water quality in Bohai Sea as a result of the 2011 spills. Sediment impacts were limited to sediments in the area immediately around Platforms B and C of Penglai 19-3.
As the government entity charged with protecting the marine ecology of the Bohai Sea, the SOA’s North China Sea Branch publishes an annual report regarding the water quality of China’s North Sea. These annual reports confirm that in the areas potentially impacted by the June 2011 spill events have returned to Level 1 Seawater Quality Standard. Level 1 Seawater Quality Standard is the best quality applicable to marine bodies.
The fact that the SOA determined that seawater quality has returned to pre-spill level is testament to the effectiveness of our cleanup efforts after the incidents.
In addition, a specialized, multi-Ministry Joint Investigation Team (JIT) established by the State Council confirmed in its final report that seawater quality improved quickly after the spill. The JIT report also confirmed that by December 2011, sediment impacts were limited to an area of 0 .153 square kilometers around WHP-C. The fact that seawater returned to Level 1 standards confirms that the limited sediment impacts in the immediate vicinity of the wellhead were confined and did not affect seawater quality.
News Releases
COPC has made the following statements related to the incidents that occurred in 2011.