Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc was warned years before its Texas City, Texas, refinery exploded in 2005 that it risked a major disaster and still cut safety spending, according to documents released last night by lawyers suing over the blast.
escapes, an internal BP study of safety at the Texas City refinery concluded in August 2002.
``The top level in London need to understand the consequences of orders to cut costs, BP executive James Hay wrote in an Aug. 15, 2002, e-mail after the study.
The March 23, 2005, explosion at London-based BP s largest refinery killed 15 workers, injured hundreds and set off more than 1,300 suits.
BP set aside $1.6 billion to cover litigation over the incident. Company documents released last night by plaintiffs lawyers show BP, the worlds third-largest publicly traded oil company, knowingly risked the lives of workers, said attorney Brent Coon, who represents more than 100 victims.
potential of a catastrophic accident, he said in an interview. ``These documents show BP knew.
responsible for the explosion, citing an internal investigation following the accident.
something that contributed to the cause of the accident, he procedures, Chapman said. ``No one went to work that day anticipating hurting people or causing what happened. But there was a greater acceptance of risk than there should have been.
refinery s octane-boosting unit, and excess gasoline spilled into a vent system. The gas ignited, setting off an explosion that could be felt five miles away.
June 22, 2006, deposition of former Texas City plant manager, Don Parus, who told lawyers for plaintiffs in several suits that the refinery maintenance had been neglected.
BP management had mandated a 25 percent cut in overhead, Parus testified.
turnarounds, in which units are taken off-line for repairs, Parus twice a month to save money, he said.
``In our investigations, we ve tracked 12 years of deferred maintenance at Texas City, amounting to $15 million to $50 million annually, Coon said in an interview.
``That s like not changing the oil in your car for four years.
deaths in 2004, according to the documents.
Making money was the plant s top priority, according to an employee survey conducted by The Telos Group, a consulting firm.
interested in finding out the cause of injuries or deaths, the workers said in the survey.
``It seems it all comes down to money, one worker said. ``We tell them we need it.
They tell us they don t have the money. As soon as it blows up or someone gets hurt there s all surveys, taken in 2003 and 2004, according to the documents.
When asked what could improve the plant, one worker advised happen before correcting the problem.
The Texas City refinery had 40 to 80 fires each year, John McLemore, BP s fire chief for the complex said in a video attorneys. This ``poised Texas City for a catastrophic management in an e-mail a month before the accident.
Chapman, the BP spokesman, said the documents that were safety crisis at the Texas City refinery.
deteriorated, he said. ``We knew there were problems at Texas City and we were in action. But we hadn t appreciated the depths of some of the issues.
refinery, he said.
The explosion led to a record fine by the U.S.
Occupational agency that BP endangered workers by cutting costs.
The U.S.
Attorney s office in Houston subpoenaed plaintiffs documents and 75,000 pages of sworn testimony in the case, Coon said.
BP, which acknowledged safety shortcomings at the plant, has settled about 1,000 suits, including all death claims. The injuries related to the explosion.
Galveston, Texas, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a worker who was killed in a fall at the refinery in 2004.
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