Aftermath of 2005 BP Texas City Refinery ExplosionToday an oil refinery explosion in Big Springs,TX injured four people,luckily no one was killed in the blast that shook houses for miles around.I could not help but think back to the March 2005 explosion at the BP Texas City Refinery that injured 170 and killed 15.At the time,it was the 3rd largest refinery in the US and had an input of almost half a million barrels a day.
Three subsequent safety incidents at the refinery led to the Baker Panel being formed to investigate the practices at BP Texas city.To date BP has paid out 1.6 billion dollars to victims of the 2005 explosion and they were forced to update equipment at their refinery with safer,more environmentally sound alternatives.
The Alon USA refinery that exploded today only processes a fraction of the crude as Texas City,about 70,000 a day but the impact will still be felt in a market where fuel prices are already staying high.With the record profits being enjoyed by oil companies,why aren't the refineries safer?Since environmentalists block new refineries,why wouldn't the oil companies invest some of their profits into updating and streamlining existing production facilities to ensure they will be up and running?
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