There are two main sources of marine petroleum pollution: drilling rigs and oil tankers. Relatively complete legal systems have been established in China and abroad concerning the pollution caused by oil tankers. However, unified rules has neither been established at the international level, nor in China for dealing with pollutions caused by drilling rigs. This article, taking the ConocoPhillips oil spill accident as an example, analyzes the defects in the marine environmental protection system in China and offers suggestions on improving the system. <<