China Oil Spill Photos: Fire, Crude, and an Inky Cleanup

Crude Catch

Photograph from Reuters

A fisher stands next to a haul of oil-filled containers during oil-spill cleanup efforts near Dalian, China, on Sunday.

Thousands of local fishers sand residents helped clean up the oil, Dalian mayor Li Wancai was quoted as saying on the city's Web site, according to the Associated Press.

Cleanup efforts involved spraying dispersants, planting oil-eating bacteria, and scooping up the black goop with shovels. (See "Gulf Oil Spill Fight Turns to Chemicals.")

Published July 30, 2010

Oil Contained, Not Cleaned

Photograph by Liu Jin, AFP/Getty Images

Workers around a dock near Dalian continued to clean up crude from the China oil spill on Tuesday.

On Monday, Chinese officials declared that the country's biggest oil spill had been contained, but not cleaned up.

Many oil-soaked beaches along Dalian's shoreline remain closed, though children and tourists have been seen frolicking on them, the Associated Press reported.

(Gulf Spill Pictures: Toxic Oil Found Just Under Beaches.)

Published July 30, 2010

Dark Wave

Photograph from ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Oil-covered Yellow Sea waters slosh on July 18, two days after the pipeline explosion that spawned the Dalian, China, oil spill.

About 47,600 gallons (180,000 liters) of escaped crude eventually covered 140 square miles (480 square kilometers) of coastal waters, according to calculations by the Los Angeles Times.

Estimates for the U.S. oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico range between 94 and 184 million gallons (360 million and 700 million liters).

(Photos: Glowing Oil Could Aid Gulf Cleanup.)

Published July 30, 2010

Oily Aftermath

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

With the Dalian fire extinguished, a firefighter steps over a tangle of hoses on July 20. Chinese officials said the explosion was due to improper injections of desulfurizer, part of the oil-refining process.

A government investigation found the desulfurizer had been strongly oxidizing and that workers had failed to follow standard safety protocols, the New York Times reported. As they give off oxygen, oxidizing agents can lead other substances, such as oil, to combust.

(Related: "Gulf Oil Cleanup Crews Trample Nesting Birds.")

Published July 30, 2010

Oil Inferno

Photograph from ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Firefighters on July 17 fight the oil inferno at the Dalian port where the two pipeline explosions occurred earlier in the day. The fire was extinguished 15 hours after the blasts.

Steps to improve safety in the oil industry will lead to higher operating costs in China and abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported. But don't expect drilling to stop anytime soon.

"Energy and metals consultancy Platts estimates that China's oil demand in June hit a record of 8.8 million barrels of oil a day, 10 percent more than last year," the paper reported.

Published July 30, 2010

Into the Fire

Photograph from China Daily/Reuters

Firefighters on July 17 stream toward an inferno raging in the wake of oil pipeline explosions at a port in Dalian, China.

Nine days later, on July 26, Chinese officials declared the spill contained. Two terminals that can accept tankers capable of carrying 150,000 tons of oil and other cargo resumed service, Reuters reported.

Dalian's main crude terminal, capable of receiving 300,000-ton carriers, may remain closed for several weeks, according to the news agency.

Published July 30, 2010