Beleaguered BP Texas City Refinery Faces Two Lawsuits

Texas Tribune

On April 6, 2010, the Ultracracker unit at BP's Texas City refinery malfunctioned. What blipped onto a DowJones newswire as an “upset” a few days later was, in reality, progressing into one of the largest chemical emissions events the state has ever seen.

BP to pay $50.6 mln fine for Texas refinery blast

Reuters

BP will pay a record $50.6 million (32.4 million pound) fine for lingering safety problems from a deadly 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers at its Texas City, Texas, refinery, the U.S. government said on Thursday.

BP To Pay Record Fine

Center For Public Integrity

BP will pay a $50.6 million penalty and spend at least $500 million to upgrade its Texas City, Texas, refinery where a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers.

2005 Texas City refinery blast still dogs BP

Houston Chronicle

BP's Texas City refinery put one major challenge behind it Thursday by agreeing to pay a record $50.6 million fine to federal safety regulators, but the refinery still faces $30 million in fines it is disputing and a state investigation into a huge emissions release there earlier this year.

BP to pay 50 million dollar fine for deadly 2005 Texas blast

AFP

BP agreed to pay a record 50.6 million dollar fine for safety violations at its troubled Texas City refinery, officials said Thursday in a settlement which could deepen the energy giant's legal woes.

BP settlement money helps with safety training

Originally posted by Monica Hatcher - Houston Chronicle - March 23, 2010

It's been five years since Eva Rowe's parents, James and Linda Rowe, and 13 others were killed in the explosion at BP's Texas City refinery.

After a ceremony and conference Tuesday marking the anniversary of the disaster, Rowe said she no longer thinks daily about the tragedy that took her parents' lives and that a large part of the pain had faded, though she quietly wept during parts of the event.

Beaumont lawyer Brent Coon, who represented Rowe and numerous others who suffered losses in the blast, hosted the event at his firm's downtown Houston office. Rowe expressed her gratitude that numerous endowments — established with $44 million included in her settlement with the British oil company — were improving safety in the refining industry. Read more...

Events mark fatal Texas City refinery explosions

Originally posted by TJ Aulds - Galveston Daily News - March 23, 2010

TEXAS CITY, Texas — Five years after a series of explosions rocked BP’s Texas City refinery, survivors and family members of those killed will come together in Houston not only to reflect on the fatal blasts but also to mark the progress made in petrochemical plant safety across the country as a result of the lessons learned.

Meanwhile, at the refinery where the explosions killed 15 contractor workers and injured more than 200 others, employees will mark the occasion with a moment of silence at the time the blasts happened.

It was at about 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, that an overflow of highly flammable material shot from a sub-unit at BP Texas City’s isomerization unit and was ignited by a truck’s idling diesel engine. That set off a cascade of explosions that leveled nearby office trailers and changed safety operations not just at BP but at similar facilities across the nation. Read more...

Cost cutting causes worry about refinery safety

Originally posted by Brett Clanton - Houston Chronicle - March 22, 2010

A deadly explosion at BP's Texas City refinery five years ago today did more than force the British oil giant to upgrade the plant, pay millions to settle lawsuits and shift its thinking about safety.

The tragic event “fundamentally changed BP,” said Keith Casey, BP's Texas City refinery manager.

But there are questions about whether a new wave of cost-cutting by BP and other oil refiners, struggling amid the worst conditions for the business in decades, could push corporate survival to the forefront and relegate safety to a back burner.

“Right now, it's sort of an unknown,” said Joe Howicz, a retired safety trainer with the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration who worked on refinery safety programs at the agency after the BP blast. “How is it going to affect safety if they go through another cycle of closing refineries and reducing capacity and downsizing staff and money for operations?” Read more...

BP Refinery Blast: 5 Years Later

Originally posted on click2houston.com - March 23, 2010

TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of a fatal explosion at the Texas City BP refinery that claimed 15 lives, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Eva Rowe lost both of her parents in the tragedy. But, she said time has helped to heal her wounds.

On Tuesday, she said she's looking forward to bringing a new life into the world. Her first child is due in June.

"I'm going to teach her about it very young, why her grandparents aren't around, not because they don't love her, but because they passed away," Rowe said. Read more...

BP faces $3 million safety fines for Ohio refinery

Originally posted by Erwin Seba - Reuters

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - BP Plc was accused of more problems in its U.S. operations on Monday when the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced dozens of safety violations found at the BP-Husky refinery in Toledo, Ohio, that could cost the energy giant more than $3 million in fines.

OSHA's announcement comes five months after the agency slapped BP with a record $87.4 million fine for failing to fix safety problems at its giant Texas City, Texas, refinery found after a March 2005 explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 180 other people.

"OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries," said U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in a statement. "There is no excuse for taking chances with people's lives. BP must fix the hazards now." Read more....