Investigators seek cause of Texas refinery blast

TEXAS CITY, Texas - US government investigators have descended on BP's Texas City refinery, seeking the cause of the latest explosion at the plant, which killed 15 people and injured 100.

FBI agents found "no evidence for any criminal or terrorist activity" linked to yesterday's blast at the third-largest US refinery, FBI spokesman Al Tribble said in Houston.

Two Islamist groups claimed responsibility, but BP also said it had ruled out sabotage as a cause of the third fatal accident in a year at the 71-year-old plant.

BP Chief Executive John Browne told a news conference the blast was the biggest tragedy for BP in his 38 years with the company. In addition to the dead, 70 workers in the plant and 30 people in nearby areas were injured by the powerful explosion that shook buildings and broke windows several miles away.

Browne, who toured the devastation and met with workers, said the company would conduct its own investigation and would leave "no stone left unturned." He also insisted that the refinery was "very safe."

He said the blast should have no effect on US petrol supplies and would reduce the damaged refinery's production by no more than 5 per cent.

Officials said teams from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were at the plant to start separate probes.

"We're all trying to get answers of what caused this and how to prevent in the future the suffering of the trauma of this type of accident," said John Miles, regional administrator for OSHA.

Representatives of the union that represents the refinery workers, said they also would investigate.

Experts said litigation, regulatory and reconstruction costs related to the explosion could hit or even exceed $1 billion. But securities analysts said the accident was unlikely to make a significant dent in BP's profitability.

The blast hit the "isomerization" unit used to beef up the octane of petrol at the BP refinery, which normally produces 3 per cent of US petrol supplies.

In other recent incidents at the plant, a worker died in a fall last May, and two were killed in September when scalding hot water burst from a pipe. An explosion and fire also occurred last March 30, although no deaths or serious injuries were reported.

"I would not comment on (whether there is) a pattern right now," Miles told reporters.

Browne said he did not think the mishaps indicated a safety problem at the facility, but acknowledged the company would investigate the possibility of a common thread.

"It is a very safe plant," said Browne, who rushed to Texas following the blast. "I think these events are unrelated, but there have been a few and we regret each one."

Among the costs BP is facing, "There will be worker's compensation issues for both lost time and medical costs," said Christopher Guidette, a vice president at ISO, which provides analysis and support to help insurers manage and assess risk.

Other risk analysis sources who asked not to be identified said damage to the refinery and potential litigation could put the costs of the incident over US$1 billion, though detailed damage assessments were not yet available.

BP's US facilities have endured more than 3,500 accidents since 1990, more than any other company, according to a 2004 report by the Texas Public Interest Research Group.

Eleven of the dead workers were employed by contractor JE Merit Constructors, a subsidiary of California-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. .

About 375 employees of Jacobs and its JE Merit subsidiary were doing maintenance work at a shut-down ultracracker unit near the refinery's isomerization unit when the blast occurred, Jacobs said.

Five workers were in "tough shape," according to refinery manager Don Parus.

- REUTERS