Texas City, TX Refinery Explosion
BP
Facts:
At approximately 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, a series of explosions occurred at the BP Texas City refinery during the restarting of a hydrocarbon isomerization unit. Fifteen workers were killed and 180 others were injured. Many of the victims were in or around work trailers located near an atmospheric vent stack. (1)
Cause:
The explosions occurred when a distillation tower flooded with hydrocarbons and was over pressurized, causing a geyser-like release from the vent stack. The investigation team determined the explosion occurred because BP ISOM unit managers and operators greatly overfilled and then overheated the Raffinate Splitter, a tower that is part of the ISOM unit. The fluid level in the tower at the time of the explosion was nearly 20 times higher than it should have been. (2) The presence of water or nitrogen in the tower at startup may have also contributed to a sudden increase in pressure that forced a large volume of hydrocarbon liquid and vapor into the adjacent blow down stack, quickly exceeding its capacity. The resulting vapor cloud was ignited by an unknown source. (3)
Current Status:
To date, BP has paid victim’s families $2.1 billion in settlements (4) and has been fined $50 million for violations of the U.S. Clean Air as part of a plea deal. BP also agreed to make safety improvements at their refineries and not
Since the 2005 blast, London-based BP has spent more than $1 billion in equipment upgrades, up to $2.1 billion to settle accident claims and more than $100 million in fines to safety and environmental regulators. Accidents, deaths and litigation continue at the refinery.
Past Safety Violations:
In the last five years, investigators found, BP has admitted to breaking U.S. environmental and safety laws and committing outright fraud. BP paid $373 million in fines to avoid prosecution.
BP’s safety violations far outstrip its fellow oil companies. According to the Center for Public
Integrity, in the last three years, BP refineries in Ohio and Texas have accounted for 97 percent of the “egregious, willful” violations handed out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (6)
Yet BP never fixed the problems in Texas City. Just last October; OSHA fined the company $87 million because it has failed to correct the safety problems at the rebuilt Texas City plant. That represented the largest fine in OSHA history. (7) It continues to operate the refinery.
Update:
On Feb. 1, 2011 BP announced that half its U.S. refining assets are up for sale, including the giant Texas City plant, a potentially prize asset in the heart of the oil trading hub but one that carries the stigma of the deadly 2005 blast that killed 15 workers. BP said it would take the estimated $5 billion from the sale of two refineries in Texas City to pay down costs related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that occurred in 2010. (8)
References – BP Refinery Explosion
(1) “BP America Refinery Explosion”, U.S. Chemical Safety Board Website, March 20, 2007.
(2) “BP Products North America Accepts Responsibility for Texas City Explosion”, BP Website, May 17, 2005.
(3) “BP Products North America Accepts Responsibility for Texas City Explosion”, BP Website, May 17, 2005.
(4) “BP Blast Victims Ask Judge to Revisit Criminal Plea”, Bloomberg Business Week, May 7, 2010.
(5) “BP to pay millions to families in blast”, The Houston Chronicle, Anne Bell, June 23, 2005.
(6) “BP’s Dismal Safety Record”, ABC News, PIERRE THOMAS, LISA A. JONES, JACK CLOHERTY AND JASON RYAN, June 27, 2010.
(7) “BP’s Dismal Safety Record”, ABC News, PIERRE THOMAS, LISA A. JONES, JACK CLOHERTY AND JASON RYAN, June 27, 2010.
(8) “BP to sell more than half its U.S. refining capacity”, Reuters, Feb. 1, 2011.
