Influence of Offshore Oil Exploitation on Environment EvaluatedThe Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) workshop on assessing and maintaining the integrity of existing offshore oil and gas facilities opened Monday in Beijing.About 150 representatives from China, the United States, Australia, Mexico, Malaysia and some other countries are attending the three-day meeting, cosponsored by China and the United States. The workshop is intended to deepen understanding of the assessment and mitigation process for aging and damaged offshore facilities in order to sustain safe operation, secure environmental quality and maintain efficient use of petroleum resources. Aging or damaged offshore facilities pose a number of challenges to the offshore oil and gas industry and government regulatory bodies, experts say. At today's meeting, Chen Lianzeng, vice director of the State Oceanic Administration, said that China is especially concerned about environmental protection during offshore oil and gas exploitation. China, with 18,000 kilometers of coastline, started offshore oil and gas exploitation in the 1980s by bringing in funds and technology from overseas. At present, 25 offshore oil and gas fields are in operation, according to Chen. The revised law on marine environmental protection came into effect on April 1, and a series of regulations concerning environmental protection in petroleum exploration and a contingency plan in offshore oil exploitation are in effect in China. All the offshore oil platforms are equipped with oil sewage treatment facilities, and other measures are also taken on drilling wells and ships to prevent sea pollution, Chen added. |
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