BP execs knew of dangers before US blast - CBS

26 October 2006 22:49  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Internal BP documents examined by US television network CBS confirm that top executives of the oil company were aware of safety issues that led to the 23 March, 2005 blast that killed 15 workers at its Texas City refinery, the network said in a press release on Thursday.

CBS said internal BP documents obtained for its 60 Minutes news programme confirmed that John Manzoni, the company's executive in charge of refineries, was repeatedly warned by his own experts before the explosion about serious safety problems at the refinery.

One report noted that the history of petroleum leaks at the 460,000 bbl/day refinery near Galveston, Texas, created "the potential for a major site incident," CBS said.

Manzoni said under oath that he only became aware of serious safety concerns at the Texas City site on the day of the explosion, CBS said.

BP was not immediately available for response.

The 60 Minutes programme will be televised on Sunday.

By: Brian Ford
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