With only one day left until the August 31 clean-up deadline set by China's State Oceanic Administration, ConocoPhillips is certainly feeling the heat from both government and the public. But the latest findings indicate the clean-up work is far from complete.

ConocoPhillips' apology came almost two and a half months after the initial leak was found. The company was rather adamant about the effectiveness of its clean-up efforts.

A day after the press conference, new leaks were again reported to have been found near Platform C. Up till then, a total of 16 leak sources had been discovered near the platform.

The company claimed in a statement on Monday that 12 of the 16 additional sources of leaks had disappeared. And 99 percent of the oil-based mud around platform C had been cleaned up.

ConocoPhillips again reassured the public it would finish the work by the Aug 31 deadline. But an inquiry into the matter by our reporter says otherwise.

Latest test results on samples taken from near Platform B show that oil density has exceeded 145 parts per million, and sea water with an oil density of more than half a part per million is considered to be of inferior quality. So there's still a lot left to be done in terms of reversing the harm.

The State Oceanic Administration hasn't confirmed whether platform C has been permanently sealed yet.

(CNTV.cn August 30, 2011)