CNOOC Ltd., China's largest offshore oil producer, said on Saturday it has cleaned up the oil sheen on the sea surface in the Bohai Bay.

The latest oil leak occurred on Friday afternoon near the Jinzhou 9-3 West oilfield operated by a subsidiary of CNOOC in the Liaodong Bay off northeast China, following an oil spill at a field platform owned by CNOOC and operated by ConocoPhillips that triggered official and public uproar.

The company said the oil spill was caused by the leak from a subsea connecting pipeline damaged by a work vessel during its operations on Friday.

CNOOC's initial estimate indicated the amount of leakage was about 0.38 cubic meters. CNOOC said the company activated emergency response procedures, shut down the operations at Platform B of the oilfield and cut off the leaking source immediately after the oil leak.

Besides taking effective measures to clean up the oil sheen, the company also sent divers to survey the damaged subsea pipeline and seal the leaking source, according to CNOOC.

Affected by the shutdown, the production by the field is reduced by approximately 1,600 barrels per day, it said.

Following the cleanup, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) called off a level-three emergency response that it initiated after the spill.

Jinzhou 9-3 West oilfield is an independent oilfield which CNOOC holds 100 percent of interest.

(China.org.cn October 16, 2011)