NEA: China Approves Second Phase of Penglai 19-3 Development Plan

BEIJING - China's National Energy Administration said Friday that it approved in December the second phase of an overall development plan for the Penglai 19-3 and Penglai 25-6 oil fields in northern Bohai Bay. 

The Penglai 19-3 field, which is operated by ConocoPhillips' (COP) China unit and 51percent-owned by Cnooc Ltd. (CEO), was ordered by China's State Oceanic Administration to halt production in September 2011 after it spilled 3,345 barrels of oil and oil-based drilling mud into the ocean.

Although the second phase of the plan was already approved by the Chinese government in 2005, ConocoPhillips was required to submit a revised plan last November after the spills. The second phase for the Penglai fields consists of five well-head platforms, central processing facilities and a floating production storage and offloading (FSPO) vessel, it has said.

ConocoPhillip's production capacity was 150,000 barrels a day of crude from the Penglai 19-3 field before the oil spill.

ConocoPhillips and Cnooc didn't immediately reply to emails seeking comment.