BP To Issue Refinery Investigation Report

HOUSTON -- BP PLC said it would issue a final incident investigation report in late September identifying the underlying causes of the May 23 explosion at the company's Texas City, Tex., refinery, which killed 15 persons.

According to the Oil & Gas Journal, BP earlier this month agreed to follow a recommendation by the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) to appoint an independent panel to review the safety management systems and corporate safety culture of BP Products North America Inc., the unit responsible for the company's five US refineries. The panel, headed by an external chairperson and including outside safety experts and BP staff representatives, will make the findings public, BP said.

The explosion, which BP called "the worst tragedy in the recent history of BP," was followed this summer by three other explosions or fires at various BP facilities, including one at the same Texas City facility .

The OGJ reports that the CSB also is investigating the incidents, along with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

BP has taken a number of corrective actions to avoid other incidents -- it has appointed new managers, clarified procedures and accountability responsibilities and initiated actions to ensure procedure compliance.