From Bloomberg:

China, the world’s second-largest energy user, plans to shut projects that pollute the Bohai Sea to protect the environment.

China wants at least 80 percent of waste discharged in northern China’s Bohai area to be treated by 2010, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, said in a statement on the central government’s Web site yesterday.

The Bohai Sea holds 1.5 billion barrels of oil, or 8 percent of China’s proven reserves, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Cnooc Ltd. China’s biggest offshore oil producer, and PetroChina Co., the nation’s largest energy company, own exploration stakes in the area. [Full Text]