US safety authorities impose record £53m fine on BP for Texas City failings

November 1, 2009, 9:22 am

British company has not fixed hazards after 2005 explosion at industrial complex that cost 15 lives

Andrew Clark in New York

The US government raised grave questions over BP's safety culture today by imposing a record fine of $87.4m (£53m) on the British company for failing to fix hazards at its Texas City oil refinery in the wake of a disastrous explosion that killed 15 people four years ago.

BP contests a record $87M US fine for lax remedies since fatal 2005 Texas refinery explosion

November 1, 2009, 9:20 am By SAM HANANEL | Associated Press | Oct 30, 09 2:23 PM CDT

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Friday imposed a record $87 million fine against oil giant BP PLC for failing to correct safety hazards after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery.

BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine

November 1, 2009, 9:37 am

By Erwin Seba of Reuters

HOUSTON - US safety regulators ha shit oil giant BP with a record $US87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City, Texas, refinery after a deadly 2005 explosion.

US government continues to let BP slide

Originally posted by Sheila McNulty - Financial Times - September 24, 2009

The US government has let pass another deadline for BP to come into compliance with federal safety standards. And, once again, the UK oil giant has asked for yet more time to comply - a request that may, as explained below - expose the company to considerable legal risk.

It has been four years since BP’s biggest refinery, in Texas City, exploded; the accident killed 15 people and injured hundreds more. And the company says it has invested enormous amounts of money and spent considerable time improving safety at the facility.

Yet, here we are, with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration noting that an audit had identified “systemic deviations from industry standards” at the facility that have yet to be addressed. OSHA also outlined in detail other “areas of concern”, including a failure four years after the blast to complete a determination of which alarm functions in each unit were critical to process safety. Read more...

BP Asks For More Time For Texas City Safety Deal

Originally posted by Erwin Seba - Reuters - September 23, 2009

HOUSTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) has requested more time to meet the terms of an expiring agreement with the federal government to improve safety at its Texas City, Texas, refinery, where an explosion killed 15 workers and injured 180 others in 2005, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on Wednesday.

"OSHA has received BP's petition for modification of abatement request, in reference to the company's 2005 settlement agreement, and is presently taking that request under advisement as part of its on-going inspection at BP," the agency said in a statement.

The British energy giant entered into the 2005 agreement with OSHA to settle worker safety rules violations the agency found after the March 23, 2005, explosion. The agreement expired on Tuesday. Read more...

Upgrades at BP refinery not made in time

Originally posted by Brett Clanton - Houston Chronicle - September 24, 2009

Federal regulators say BP has failed to make certain agreed-upon safety upgrades to its Texas City refinery, reviving questions about safety at the plant where a blast killed 15 workers in 2005.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the London-based oil giant missed a Wednesday deadline for making the safety improvements at the plant, one of the world's largest refineries.

OSHA said late Wednesday that it had received a request by BP that could delay enforcement action. The agency said it is taking the request under advisement.

OSHA had warned BP last month that it if did not make the safety upgrades by Wednesday it would be in violation of a settlement agreement the two parties struck in September 2005, which included a $21 million fine. Read more...

Jury trial could decide Chevron case

Originally posted by Dan Horn - Cincinnati Enquirer - September 13, 2009

More than 200 residents near the old Chevron refinery in Whitewater Township will find out next week what a jury thinks of their multimillion-dollar claim that the oil company dumped toxic waste into their soil and water.

The jury's verdict is not binding because it will be part of a summary jury trial, which is essentially a practice trial designed to help both sides settle the case.

But the outcome could move the hard-fought case closer to a resolution after years of battling in court.

The case began more than five years ago when residents sued Chevron in federal court in Cincinnati, accusing the company of harming their health and property values with contamination from the now-closed refinery. They say the company knew about the risks to residents but did nothing to prevent spills and other toxic releases. Read more...

BP asks for more time to make plant improvements

Originally posted on September 23, 2009

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON (AP) - Oil giant BP PLC is requesting more time to implement required safety improvements at its Texas City refinery where a 2005 explosion left 15 people dead, the U.S. agency responsible for worker safety said Wednesday.

The request comes after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration told BP last month in a letter that it was failing to make the improvements that were part of an agreement BP entered into with the agency after the deadly blast, which also injured more than 170 people.

The agency found BP committed more than 300 willful violations. BP agreed to review process safety management systems and equipment throughout the refinery and pay a $21.3 million fine.

BP had until Wednesday to comply with the agreement. OSHA spokeswoman Diana Petterson said the agency had received a request from the company for more time "and is presently taking that request under advisement as part of its ongoing inspection at BP." Read more...

Judge approves disputed BP plea deal in Texas City blast

Originally posted by Kristen Hays - Houston Chronicle - March 12, 2009

A division of BP officially became a felon Thursday when a federal judge accepted a long-pending plea bargain to resolve a criminal investigation into the deadly 2005 explosion at the company’s Texas City refinery.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal ordered BP to pay the agreed-upon $50 million fine by Monday and comply with blast-related settlements with regulators while on probation for three years.

The explosion on March 23, 2005, killed 15 workers and hurt many more. Read more...

Judge approves plea deal in BP plant blast

Originally posted by Juan A. Lozano (AP) - Houston Chronicle - March 12, 2009

HOUSTON — A federal judge on Thursday approved a highly criticized plea deal that fines BP PLC $50 million for its criminal role in a deadly 2005 blast at its refinery near Houston that killed 15 people.

The plea deal, which has a BP subsidiary pleading guilty to a violation of the Clean Air Act, a felony, also sentences the oil giant to three years probation.

The deadly explosion at BP's Texas City refinery, about 40 miles southeast of Houston, also injured more than 170 people.

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal's announcement during a brief court hearing came after the plea deal was first announced in October 2007. Its acceptance was delayed while the judge held hearings in which blast victims and their attorneys vigorously objected to the agreement as too low. Read more...