OSHA has settled with BP Products North America, Inc. to resolve citations issued by the agency in October 2009. The case involves willful violations of the process safety management standard at BP’s Texas City refinery. BP will pay $13,027,000 in penalties and will abate all remaining violations by the end of the year.

In September 2005, the OSHA cited BP for a then-record $21 million as a result of a fatal explosion at the Texas City site that killed 15 workers and injured dozens of others. That led to an agreement that required BP to identify and correct deficiencies.

But a 2009 follow-up investigation found that although the company had made improvements, it failed to correct numerous items. That led OSHA to issue 270 failure-to-abate notices. In a 2010 settlement BP agreed to a fine of $50.6 million to resolve those notices.

Also in 2009, a $30 million fine was issued for failure to follow industry-engineering practices for pressure relief safety systems.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said, “For the workers at BP’s Texas City refinery, this settlement will help establish a culture of safety. The workers who help keep our nation’s oil and gas industries running deserve to go to work each day without fear of losing their lives.”