Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, has called for a fresh probe into the offshore oil spill at Penglai 19-3, the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s displeasure over the incident that has forced ConocoPhillips to shut down its largest oilfield in China.

　　中国国务院总理温家宝要求对蓬莱19-3油田海上漏油事故进行彻底调查。这是迄今最为明显的迹象，表明中国政府对这起事故感到不满。该事故已迫使康菲石油(ConocoPhillips)关闭其在中国的最大油田。

　　The remarks from China’s cabinet underscore how the spill, though small in size, has caught the attention of top leaders at a time when environmental concerns are rising. For decades China’s economic boom has been accompanied by growing pollution, but this year officials have warned environmental degradation was a “bottleneck” for economic growth.

　　中国国务院的这番言论突显出，这起漏油事故尽管规模较小，但在环境担忧日益加重之际已引起最高层领导人的注意。几十年来，中国的经济热潮一直伴随着污染日趋严重的问题，但今年，政府官员警告称，环境退化已成为经济增长的“瓶颈”。

　　Earlier on Wednesday ConocoPhillips, the operator of Penglai 19-3, issued an unusual apology in a bid to smooth relations with Beijing.

　　周三早些时候，蓬莱19-3油田的运营商康菲石油发表了一份不同寻常的道歉声明，以缓和与中国政府的关系。

　　“ConocoPhillips deeply regrets these incidents and apologises for the impact that the incidents have had on the Chinese people and the environment,” said James Mulva, chairman.

　　康菲石油董事长穆礼怀(James Mulva)表示：“康菲石油对于该事件的发生深表歉意，并就因此对中国人民和环境产生的影响表示道歉。”

　　ConocoPhillips would also set up a fund to address its “responsibilities” under Chinese law, the company said, without specifying how big the fund would be.

　　康菲石油表示，公司还将设立一只基金，旨在根据中国法律承担自己的“责任”，但该公司没有具体言明该基金的规模。

　　Hinting at possible legal battles to come, the State Council, or cabinet, urged that the legal rights of people affected by the spill be fully upheld. Analysts and industry executives have raised concerns over whether ConocoPhillips is being singled out by regulators for unusually harsh discipline because it is a foreign company.

　　中国国务院暗示未来可能会出现法律诉讼，并敦促应全面维护受到漏油事故影响的人们的合法权利。让分析人士和业内高管感到担忧的是：康菲石油被监管部门单独挑出来予以异常严厉的惩罚，是否是因为它是一家外国公司。

　　ConocoPhillips has a 49 percent stake in the field and Cnooc, China’s offshore oil and gas company, has a 51 percent stake.

　　康菲石油拥有蓬莱19-3油田49%的权益，中国海上油气企业中海油(CNOOC)拥有51%的权益。

　　After months of cleanup efforts, Chinese regulators ordered ConocoPhillips on Friday to shut down production at all seven drilling platforms of Penglai 19-3 and said the spills were caused by “negligence”. The regulators say that ConocoPhillips failed to meet an August 31 deadline to clean up the spill and prevent new leaks; ConocoPhillips says it complied with those orders in full.

　　在为期数月的清理工作后，中国监管部门上周五责令康菲石油停止蓬莱19-3油田全部7个钻井平台的生产作业，并表示此次漏油事故是由“疏忽大意”造成的。监管部门表示，康菲石油未能在8月31日的截止日期前清理干净漏油并防止新的泄漏；康菲石油则表示自己全面遵守了这些要求。

　　The State Council said on Wednesday that the risk of further spills at Penglai 19-3 had not yet been eliminated, and called for tighter environmental controls in Bohai Bay, including tougher controls on petrochemical projects in the area.

　　中国国务院周三表示，蓬莱19-3油田的溢油隐患仍未彻底排除，并呼吁加强渤海湾的环境控制，包括严控该地区新上石化项目。

　　Like the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, the spills at Penglai 19-3 seem poised to have a profound impact on China’s offshore oil and gas industry. However, the incidents are magnitudes apart in terms of scale: Deepwater Horizon released 4.9m barrels of oil into the sea, over a thousand times more than the Penglai spill, which leaked 3,200 barrels of oil and drilling mud.

　　与去年墨西哥湾的深水地平线(Deepwater Horizon)漏油事故一样，蓬莱19-3油田的漏油事故似乎将对中国海上油气行业产生深远影响。然而，这两起事故在规模上有着天壤之别：深水地平线事故导致490万桶原油漏入海中，是蓬莱漏油事故的一千多倍——蓬莱事故导致3200桶原油和钻井泥浆漏入海中。