THE Chinese subsidiary of ConocoPhillips can resume operations at an oil field off the coast of northeastern China that was closed in 2011 after two oil spills, a regulator said over the weekend.

Conoco and its subsidiary, ConocoPhillips China Inc, came under intense media criticism in China following the spills, which drained into the Bohai Sea and its bay.

The State Oceanic Administration said in a statement on Saturday that conditions at the Penglai 19-3 oil field had returned to normal after a series of rectification measures, and that ConocoPhillips could gradually resume production there.

China's largest oil field is jointly owned by Houston-based ConocoPhillips' Chinese subsidiary and China National Offshore Oil Corp, China's main offshore oil and gas producer.