BP says failures by staff caused Texas City refinery explosion
London (Platts)--17May2005
A number of failures by BP staff were to blame for the explosion and fire at the company's 460,000 b/d Texas City refinery Mar 23 in which 15 workers died and more than 170 people were injured, the company said Tuesday. BP Products North America has completed an interim investigation into the incident, concluding that it was caused by "a series of failures by BP personnel before and during the startup of the isomerization process unit." BP said it would take disciplinary action "against both supervisory and hourly employees directly responsible for operation of the isomerization unit Mar 22 and 23." The actions to be taken range from warnings to firing the individuals involved, BP said. If the isomerization unit managers had properly supervised the startup or followed procedures and taken corrective action earlier, the explosion would not have occurred, BP's investigation showed. "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," BP said. "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," BP added. "The number of deaths and injuries was greatly increased by the presence of workers in temporary trailers near the blow down stack and the failure to evacuate personnel when it became apparent pressure was building in the ISOM unit and that vapors were being vented to the atmosphere." "The mistakes made during the startup of this unit were surprising and deeply disturbing. The result was an extraordinary tragedy we didn't foresee," BP Products North America President Ross Pillari said in a statement. "We regret that our mistakes have caused so much suffering. We apologize to those who were harmed and to the Texas City community. We cannot change the past or repair all the damage this incident has done. We can assure that those who were injured and the families of those who died receive financial support and compensation. Our goal is to provide fair compensation without the need for lawsuits or lengthy court proceedings," he added. BP earlier this month started a review of the refinery's processes and procedures designed to address "all aspects of Texas City operations from procedures and training to process safety and maintenance," the company said. This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert http://www.globalalert.platts.com
Copyright © 2005 - Platts
Please visit: www.platts.com
Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.