Chemical spills
In November 2005, one of PetroChina's chemical plants exploded in Jilin, China, resulting in 100 tons of benzene, which is a carcinogen and toxic, pouring into the Songhua River. There was a slick of chemicals that spanned 80 kilometres.[39] Harbin, which is another city along the Songhua River, had to cut the water supply from almost 4 million people, for 5 days. More than 60 people were injured, five died, and one person was missing due to the incident. The spill reached as far as Khabarovsk, Russia, where residents stocked up on bottled water. The Russian city tried filtering its water of toxic substances, but could not guarantee the water was safe.[40] China's environmental agency fined the company one million yuan (approximately $125,000, £64,000) for its pollution, which was the maximum fine that can be handed out in China for breaking an environmental law.[39] The Chinese government said that cleaning up the aftermath would require one billion US dollars.[39] Li Zhaoxing, Chinese Foreign Minister at the time, issued a public apology to Russia due to the incident.[41] The Chinese press responded harshly to the authorities' response to the disaster.[42]
In 2014, Petrochina's subsidiary Lanzhou Petrochemical was responsible for ethylene and ammonia leaks, benzene contamination of water supplies, and air pollution in Lanzhou. City officials criticized the company and demanded an apology.[43]
The "Western Gas to the East" Pipeline Project
PetroChina's development of gas reserves in Tarim Basin, Xinjiang has been the subject of controversy, as such a project could pose a threat to the environment.[44][45]
Demonstration at Chengdu plant
In 2008, PetroChina began constructing a $5.5 billion petrochemical plant, expected to produce 800,000 tons of ethylene and refine 10 million tons of crude oil a year, in Chengdu, China. Although PetroChina claimed that $565 million of the total investment would be dedicated to environmental protection, residents of Chengdu believed it might bring pollution to the local area and took to the streets on 3 and 4 May 2008, to protest the petrochemical plant. The whole demonstration was peaceful, with little Chinese government intervention.[46]
Trade anomalies
On 19 January 2022, Chinese authorities punished PetroChina's subsidiary "PetroChina Fuel Oil Co Ltd" for alleged oil trade inconsistencies that "severely disrupted oil products market order... facilitated blind development of outdated production capacity at independent refineries...caused losses in government tax revenue indirectly," said the National Development and Reform Commission.[47]
Human rights
In 2011, Earthrights International accused PetroChina of complicity in serious human rights abuses in Burma,[48][49] a country known for militarily furthering its economic interests through the use of forced labor.[50][51]
Corruption
In September 2013, Jiang Jiemin, a former chairman of PetroChina, was abruptly removed from his role as director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and investigated for corruption and abuse of power, along with four other senior oil executives.[52] Jiang was considered an ally of corrupt former security chief Zhou Yongkang, and part of a group of officials that had political ties with Zhou. On 12 October 2015, the court found Jiang guilty on all counts, including accepting bribes, possessing dark assets, and abusing his power. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.[53]
In January 2017, former vice chairman Liao Yongyuan was sentenced to 15 years in prison for abuse of power and accepting nearly $2 million worth of bribes.[54][55]
In October 2021, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that it was investigating former vice president Ling Xiao, for "serious disciplinary violations".
Tax issues
In January 2014, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published research based on leaked financial records from the British Virgin Islands, implicating CNPC, PetroChina, Sinopec, and CNOOC in offshore tax evasion.[57][58]
