ConocoPhillips has been ordered by a Chinese court to pay compensation to nearly two dozen aquaculture farmers who said their livelihoods had been hurt by oil spills off the country’s north eastern coast four years ago.
The company was told to pay $266,000 to 21 farmers who had not previously participated in a previous settlement in 2012.
The farmers had been seeking more than $22million from Conoco and its partner Chinese state-owned oil major CNOOC.
The leaks were first discovered in June 2011 at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield, a joint exploration project by the two.
The leaked oil spread across as much as 6,200 sq km of water in Bohai Bay, according to court documents.
The spills were sealed in October 2011, and the field, with daily production of about 160,000 barrels, was restarted in February 2013.
ConocoPhillips has a 49-percent stake in the field, which is 51-percent owned by CNOOC Ltd.
The court laid responsibility for compensation solely with ConocoPhillips, the operator of the oilfield.
The two companies previously agreed to give one billion yuan in compensation for losses in the fishing industry, and 1.68 billion yuan for ecological damages in a settlement with Chinese authorities.
Roughly 4,500 affected households signed onto the settlement, the court said.
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