China's State Oceanic Administration granted ConocoPhillips permission to begin oil production after operations stopped following two oil spills in June 2011.

ConocoPhillips can gradually resume operations at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield. SOA said in the statement on its website posted yesterday that the oil company should follow the "requirements of the environmental impact report and its approval document" while under the scrutiny of maritime surveillance monitoring.

The two spills in June 2001 leaked over 720 barrels of oil and more than 110,000 gallons of mineral oil-based drilling mud that drained into the Bohai Sea. At the time, ConocoPhillips came under intense media scrutiny in China over damage done to the environment.