WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2015
The Chinese government has sentenced 14, including former officials of a state-owned energy company and government officials, for corrosion-related pipeline blasts that killed more than 60 people in 2013.
Six local government officials were given three to five years in jail, while six other employees were sentenced up to five years behind bars, according to a report released Monday (Nov. 30) in the Today of Singapore citing China’s official news agency, Xinhua.
Two of the former employees of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) were given probation by the Shandong court, the report said.
#3Novices : 14 jailed over China pipeline blast https://t.co/A7FaugFrQD November 30, 2015 at 06:01PM China sentenced 14 people to jail o…
— 3NovicesAfrica (@3NovicesAfrican) November 30, 2015
All eight of the Sinopec officials were found guilty of violating safety regulations in operations and indirectly causing the explosions near Qingdao, Today reported. The six government officials—including Li Benzhe, the director of the Qingdao work safety bureau—were charged with dereliction of duty for failing to inspect the pipeline.
Former Sinopec Chairman Fu Fhengyu was given a demerit on his official record in 2014 for the pipeline disasters. Another 47 Sinopec officials also were disciplined, Today reported while citing Xinhua.
Pipeline Explosions
According to Reuters, 63 people were killed and another 156 were injured in two separate blasts along the Dongying-Huangdao II pipeline. The news agency also said the blast caused 751.7 million yuan (US$117.53 million) in damage.
#China gives 14 officials jail terms over 2013 oil pipeline blast https://t.co/EmimBi8tid pic.twitter.com/3UYsKd4i5i
— ST Foreign Desk (@STForeignDesk) November 30, 2015
At the time of the oil pipeline explosion, Chinese officials said it had been caused by corrosion; irregular work practices; and a tangled network of underground pipes, Reuters reported. It highlighted the risks involved in China’s rapidly growing cities, where urban areas now sprawl over existing pipelines.
The pipeline had experienced problems before the blasts, according to a Wall Street Journal article written shortly after the disaster. In 2010, Sinopec statements reported two accidents along the pipeline because of a buildup of trash on a section of it and illegal construction near it. The incidents caused spills on the pipeline that had been built in 1986, but no casualties, the WSJ said.
China gives 14 officials jail terms over 2013 oil pipeline blast that killed 63 https://t.co/4fVj7lmD1S pic.twitter.com/T9S9h6FYOl
— The Star, Kenya (@TheStarKenya) November 30, 2015
Sinopec said in 2010 that it spent 12 million yuan (about US$2 million) between 2005 and 2010 to fix severely corroded sections of the pipeline, the WSJ reported. The pipeline was capable of shipping 200,000 barrels of oil per day and ran about 250 kilometers (155 miles).
Chinese Growing Pains
According to Today, the recent sentences related to the Sinopec blast come as the country is trying to crack down on government officials after a rash of industrial disasters.
A Chinese court has sentenced 14 people to jail over deadly 2013 oil pipeline blasts: https://t.co/dJWD74Ttdm pic.twitter.com/zKDZpakcbh
— WSJ China Real Time (@ChinaRealTime) November 30, 2015
More recently, 173 were killed in Tianjin, China, after port warehouses exploded in August, Today reported. Another August explosion at an auto parts factory near Shanghai killed at least 75, and a poultry plant fire in June left 120 dead.
Tagged categories: Corrosion; Fatalities; Government; Oil and Gas; Pipelines; Quality Control