Pay to Play

The October decision of the Intermediate People's Court in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, to freeze the bank accounts of PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Co., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC), for environmental damage has attracted much attention.

The court decision came after the Changqing Oilfield firm refused to pay an 850 million yuan bill issued by the provincial Soil and Water Conservation Bureau. That compensation was for soil erosion linked to the company's operations in oil and gas development and was based on a Shaanxi regulation issued in November 2008.