Chinese Lawyer Sues State Company over Oil Spill

2011-08-17 2

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A lawyer in China is suing a state-owned company and its US partner over an oil spill in China's northeast. The oil spills began in June, although they weren't reported to the public for a month.

A Chinese lawyer is suing a state-owned company and its U.S. partner over an oil spill that has polluted China's northeast coast.

More than 2,100 barrels of oil have been leaking from two platforms in Bohai Bay in northeast China. The platform is jointly owned by China's CNOOC and ConocoPhillips China, a subsidiary of Houston-based ConocoPhillips.

Jia Fangyi, a lawyer from the Great Wall Law Firm, announced on Tuesday that he has filed a private suit in three courts in China suing both companies. Jia demanded that the companies "immediately stop polluting the environment and clean up the pollution," according to an AFP report, quoting the state-owned Beijing Times.

The AFP report said Jia also asked for a $1.6-billion compensation fund to pay for damages and restore the area's ecological system.

Jia is also planning to sue the State Oceanic Administration for its lack of response to the oil spill, and for failing to notify the public.

Meanwhile, the State Oceanic Administration said Tuesday that it would sue ConocoPhillips for polluting beaches and damaging marine life. It made no mention of state-owned CNOOC.

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