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As government faces increasing criticism over its controversial deal with ConnocoPhillips and pressure mounts to force the government to reveal the contract, an oil spill in China lends weight to the protesters claims that the company has a poor safety record.

ConocoPhillips Halts Oil Operations In Bohai Bay, China

[caption id="attachment_10317" align="aligncenter" width="570" caption="ConocoPhillips has been ordered by the Chinese government to halt oil rig operations in Bohai Bay. ??AP"][/caption] China said Wednesday it had ordered ConocoPhillips to immediately stop operations at several rigs in an area off the nation's eastern coast polluted by a huge slick. The 336-square-mile slick emanating from the oil field in Bohai Bay -- which ConocoPhillips operates with China's state-run oil giant CNOOC - has sparked outrage amid allegations of a cover-up. On Wednesday, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said operations would not be allowed to resume before the source of the spill was fully plugged and "risks eliminated," as fears over the long-term impact on the environment grow. "There has been oil seeping continuously into the sea for days from platforms B and C in the Penglai 19-3 oil field and there is still a slick in the surrounding marine areas," the SOA said in a statement. "Another spill could happen at any time, which has posed a huge threat to the oceanic ecological environment," it said, adding it had ordered Houston-based ConocoPhillips to stop operations at those platforms. Spill 'Basically Under Control' CNOOC last week said the spill -- which was detected on June 4 but only made public at the beginning of July -- was "basically under control" while ConocoPhillips told reporters the leaks had been plugged. The official China Daily newspaper last week said that dead seaweed and rotting fish could be seen in waters around Nanhuangcheng Island near the site of the slick. It quoted a local fisheries association official as saying the oil leak would have a "long-term" impact on the environment. CNOOC has been slammed by state media and green groups over the spill, and it emerged on Tuesday that the firm was cleaning up another slick after a breakdown at a rig off the northeast coast. The state-run giant said the leak was "minor". In a separate incident, a CNOOC refinery in the southern province of Guangdong caught fire Monday but there were no casualties, the company said, adding that the cause of the blaze was still under investigation. The refinery is located about 25 miles from the Daya Bay nuclear power plant, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011