BP Refinery Suffered Cascade of Malfunctions Before Fatal Explosion, Agency Says

The interim report, which is expected to be published as soon as this week, is the third governmental finding suggesting that a lack of employee training, murky safety processes, decision-making by BP supervisors or a combination of factors contributed to the accident at what was then called the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery.

Earlier findings from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and an interim report from the Environmental Protection Agency in recent months cited evidence that operational and training deficiencies were factors in the explosion at the oil refinery in Oregon, Ohio, just outside of Toledo.

Two BP employees, brothers Benjamin and Maxwell Morrissey, both in their 30s, died from injuries sustained in the fire.

At the time of the accident, the refinery was operated and 50% owned by BP subsidiary BP Products North America.

In a statement, a BP spokeswoman said the company hasn’t seen the report but is “deeply saddened by this tragic accident.” She said the company is cooperating with the CSB and “remains committed to safe and reliable operations at all of our facilities.”

BP years ago pledged to improve companywide safety standards after a series of deadly accidents. Those included a 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers, at the time the deadliest U.S. petrochemical-industry accident in years.

In 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 people and creating an environmental disaster that has cost BP more than $60 billion in legal and other costs.

The CSB didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The nonregulatory agency investigates incidents ranging from chemical-plant accidents to offshore oil spills and makes recommendations on general chemical hazards.

The CSB report is the most detailed yet by federal investigators, but likely won’t be final for months to come, according to the agency. The nine-page report doesn’t assign blame or analyze decision-making. Instead, it lays out a timeline of events investigators understand so far, as they continue to look into process controls and other aspects of what happened.

The CSB investigators say in the report that the partial shutdown of a gas plant and other equipment earlier that Tuesday combined with a cascade of mishaps including an oil-pump leak after the evening crew arrived, causing “unstable operating conditions” in the crude-processing tower. As the tower continued operating, another risky naphtha buildup led to emergency attempts to drain the liquid.

Operators at the plant had to bypass the equipment that had been shut down because of the problems earlier in the day, investigators say. They cite rerouting of hazardous materials as helping create new problems that refinery operators in the control room and outside struggled to rein in. 

Ultimately, releases of naphtha formed a vapor cloud that ignited at 6:46 p.m., engulfing the crude tower in flames, investigators said. The fire burned for several hours.

OSHA said in March that shortcomings in the handling of hazardous materials and training failures contributed to the explosion. BP at the time of the accident said its “highest priority remains the safety of our staff, the responders and the public.”

OSHA cited 10 violations it categorized as serious tied to employee training, safety processes and other factors, and proposed $156,250 in penalties based on federal guidelines. OSHA said in March that BP “violated the U.S. Department of Labor’s process safety procedures for highly hazardous materials and failed to adequately train the workers.”

BP contested the findings. The company has said it was cooperating with OSHA’s investigation.

The EPA conducted a March inspection of the refinery under its role in enforcing the U.S. Clean Air Act. In May, EPA investigators cited what they called “areas of concern,” including discrepancies between refinery equipment and records used for training and safety management. 

The EPA also cited evidence that the refinery didn’t implement its written operating procedures the day of the explosion, including for the temporary shutdown of key units involved. The EPA said BP had failed to “certify all operating procedures annually.”

The EPA said its review was ongoing.

BP has since sold its 50% holding in the refinery. Calgary, Canada-based Cenovus Energy in February said it completed its purchase of BP’s stake for $370 million and took over as operator.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney’s 2022 bonus was reduced as a result of safety issues including the refinery fatalities, according to a company spokesman and BP’s annual report. The compensation report showed Looney’s bonus was knocked down by 3.2%, or roughly $98,000, at the discretion of the board. 

Looney’s total 2022 compensation more than doubled from the previous year, to around $12 million.

BP reported a record full-year profit in 2022, riding a wave of bumper results from major oil companies after Russia’s war in Ukraine helped fuel high energy prices. 

Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected]