Oil spill impacts

Judging from what we have heard from the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) may be correct in claiming that the scope and impacts of the spill at Penglai 19-3 oilfield in the Bohai Sea are incomparable with the notorious Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster, yet they appear much bigger than it claimed.

A spill of 2,000 square meters, which is the size the CNOOC previously said, is in stark contrast with media reports of one that is "3 kilometers long and 20 to 30 meters wide", or the SOA's official account of 840 sq km of seriously polluted sea water.

We would like to believe the SOA assurance that the spill is now under "effective control". However, its concurrent confession of "minor leakage" at drilling platforms B and C sets us wondering to what extent the control is effective.