China blames desulphurizing chemical for oil pipeline blast

BEIJING - Chinese authorities on July 23 blamed a chemical used to remove sulphur from crude oil for a blast at a storage facility that caused a massive spill on the country's northeast coast.
An investigation has found that a desulphurizing chemical was mistakenly pumped into pipelines after a tanker had stopped unloading crude at the port city of Dalian on July 16, triggering the explosion, the State Administration of Work Safety said.
Authorities lifted a partial ban on maritime traffic at Dalien on July 20, four days after explosions hit the two crude oil pipelines.
The Maritime Affairs Administration of Liaoning Province reported that the ports in Dalian City had fully re-opened to traffic as of 5 p.m. on the 20th. Waterways affected by the oil slick had been basically cleared for the resumption of shipping.
About 1,500 tons of oil were spilled into the Yellow Sea off Liaoning province, officials said earlier. That compares to BP’s well spewed as much as 8,220 tons daily (60,000 b/d) spewing from BP’s Macondo well following its April 20 rig explosion until it was capped July 15.