Bohai Sea
38°42′N 119°54′E / 38.7°N 119.9°E
Bohai Sea (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: Bó Hǎi; Wade–Giles: Po-hai), also known as Bohai Gulf, Bohai, or Bo Hai, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea on the coast of Northeastern and North China. It is approximately 78,000 km2 (30,116 sq. mi) in area and its proximity to Beijing, the capital of the Peoples Republic of China, makes it one of the busiest seaways in the world.
History
Until the early 20th century, Bo Hai was often called the Gulf of Chihli (直隸海灣 Zhílì Hǎiwān) or the Gulf of Pechihli or Pechili (北直隸海灣 Běizhílì Hǎiwān). Zhili and Beizhili were historic provinces in the area surrounding Beijing.
Geography
The Bohai Sea is bounded by the Liaodong and Shandong Peninsulas. It has become one of busiest sea routes in recent times. There are three major bays inside the Bohai Sea: Laizhou Bay to the south, Liaodong Bay to the north, and Bohai Bay to the west. At the easternmost end of the Bohai Sea, between the southernmost end of the Liaodong Peninsula and northernmost end of the Shandong Peninsula, is the Bohai Strait (渤海海峡). A few of the rivers entering the gulf include the Yellow, Hai, Liao, and Luan Rivers. There are a few important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf, including the Shengli Field. Important island groups or islands in the gulf include the Changshan Islands (长山列岛), Changxing Island, and Xizhong Island (西中岛). The PRC provincial-level divisions that have a Bohai Sea coastline are, from the south, going clockwise: Shandong Province, Hebei Province, Tianjin Municipality, and Liaoning Province
Major ports
There are four major ports along the Bohai Sea rim:[1]
- Qinhuangdao Port (秦皇岛港)
- Jingtang Port (京唐港)
- Tianjin Port (天津港)
- Caofeidian Port (曹妃甸港)
Major cities along the Bohai Sea coast
- Tianjin
- Dalian, Liaoning
- Qinhuangdao, Hebei
- Yantai, Shandong
- Penglai, Shandong
- Weihai, Shandong
- Weifang, Shandong
- Laizhou, Shandong
Hydrocarbon resources
The Bohai Bay contains significant oil and gas reserves, providing much of China's offshore production. The main field in the region is named Shengli and has been exploited since the 1960s. It is still producing about half a million barrels a day, but is declining.[2]
Production is dominated by Chinese majors (China National Offshore Oil Corporation was mostly created for this region) but foreign companies are also present, like ConocoPhilips,[3] Roc Oil [4] and others.
Oil spills have been reported frequently in this region: three spills occurred in a two-month timeframe in 2011.[5]
Tunnel crossing
In February 2011, the PRC announced that it would build a road and rail tunnel across the Bohai Strait to connect the Liaodong and Shandong peninsulas. When completed, the tunnel would be 106 kilometers long.[6]
See also
Notes
- ^ "Weekly coal stocks at China's 4 key Bohai Sea ports edge down 0.1%". Mining Market. China Mining Association. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ China. Background. US Energy Information Administration
- ^ China. Key facts. conocophillips.com
- ^ Roc Oil begins Bohai Bay oil production. Bairdmaritime. 14 May 2009
- ^ China: Third Oil Spill in Bohai Sea in Less than Two Months. Offshore Energy Today (2011-07-12). Retrieved on 2011-08-03.
- ^ Asahi Shimbun, "China To Build Undersea Tunnel Crossing Bohai Strait", 18 February 2011.
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