ConocoPhillips to pay 1 billion yuan for oil spill

China's agriculture ministry said Wednesday ConocoPhillips had agreed to pay one billion yuan ($158 million) in compensation for damages caused by a huge oil spill in the nation's northeast. The leak last June from an offshore field operated by the US firm released more than 3,000 barrels of oil and oil-based mud -- used as a lubricant in drilling -- off China's coast, triggering huge public outcry. Several groups of fishermen have filed lawsuits against ConocoPhillips, seeking compensation for alleged losses to their livelihoods due to the spill, which polluted an area more than eight times the size of Singapore. In a statement, the Ministry of Agriculture said it had reached an agreement with ConocoPhillips and CNOOC, a Chinese state-owned oil giant that jointly owns the Penglai offshore field in Bohai Bay with the US company. "ConocoPhillips will pay out one billion yuan to resolve the issue of compensation for damages to biological cultures and fishing resources in Bohai in parts of the provinces of Hebei (north) and Liaoning (northeast)," it said. The US firm said in a statement on its website that the money would be used to "settle public and private claims of potentially affected fishermen in relevant Bohai Bay communities." Under the agreement, it will also use 100 million yuan of an environmental fund it has already set up "to improve fishery resources." CNOOC, meanwhile, will pay out 250 million yuan for the same purpose, the ministry said. Environmental groups and local fishermen have accused ConocoPhillips and CNOOC of initially covering up the spill, saying it was discovered in June but only made public nearly a month later. Both firms deny the allegations. ConocoPhillips says it cooperated with authorities as soon as the accident occurred.