A group of 30 Chinese fishermen sued ConocoPhillips in U.S. federal court…, claiming their livelihoods have been greatly impacted by two oil spills last year from the company's offshore drilling operations in northeastern China. Attorneys for the fishermen said the lawsuit was filed…in Houston…because courts in China have blocked their efforts to file a similar suit…Calls and emails to ConocoPhillips were not immediately returned Monday. In prior statements, CEO Jim Mulva has apologized for the oil spills' impact, and the company has set up compensation funds… ConocoPhillips and its partner, the China National Offshore Oil Corp., reached a $160 million agreement in January with China's Ministry of Agriculture to settle compensation claims related to the spill…[T]he fishermen's attorney alleged that his clients have been excluded from making compensation claims because of a complicated and bureaucratic system that has been set up to distribute the funds.