The boss of giant Chinese oil refiner Sinopec has warned that residential areas remain at risk from its pipeline after the explosion last year which killed 62 people.
A blast in the national network at Qingdao last November flattened houses and buildings, with dozens more injured.
Oil had leaked from a rupture in the pipeline into the sea for 15 minutes before the fatal explosion.
Charges were brought against 15 company officials, with 48 – including Sinopec chairman Fu Chenguy – over the blast.
Now Mr Fu Chenguy has warned that as many as 1100 sections of the country’s pipeline are too close to residential areas if another accident happens.
“City regulators have to follow pipeline rules in urban planning, otherwise not only the enterprise and residents, but the whole society may get hurt,” he warned.
The company is now calling on China to considering shortening pipeline safety distance rules for more efficient law enforcement.
Current regulations list the safe distance at between 700 to 1,200 meters, while the U.S. and Japan allow 103 meters and 30 meters respectively, said Mr Fu.