BP to pay $13 million to resolve Texas City citations

Washington – OSHA on July 12 announced BP Products North America Inc. has agreed to pay $13 million as part of a settlement agreement (.pdf file) to resolve most of the citations issued at the company's Texas City refinery in 2009. BP also agreed to abate all remaining hazards by the end of the year.

The citations date back to a 2009 follow-up investigation at the Texas City refinery where an explosion killed 15 workers in 2005. OSHA found BP failed to correct several hazards and issued citations for 439 willful violations of the Process Safety Management Standard, carrying a proposed penalty of $30.7 million. This agreement resolves 409 of those citations. OSHA said it withdrew 110 of the citations in light of documentation from BP; many of the rest were grouped into smaller categories of less serious violations. The 30 unresolved citations have been grouped into 22 unresolved citations, which will be litigated or settled.

The $13 million penalty is separate from the then-record $21 million BP agreed to pay after the explosion and the $50.6 million penalty the company agreed to in a 2010 settlement agreement with OSHA.

All the events related to Texas City are outlined in a new timeline.