Even as U.K.-based oil giant BP remains in the U.S. government’s crosshairs for environmental damage resulting from the Deepwater Horizon drill-rig explosion that killed 11 workers April 20, it now faces record fines and new scrutiny over another fatal accident five years ago at a land-based company facility in Texas.
BP agreed on Aug. 12 to pay a $50.6-million federal fine—the largest single penalty ever issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration—for not addressing safety violations found after a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery. The blast killed 15 contract workers employed by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and Fluor Corp., BP’s site contractors at the time. About 170 workers were injured.