• 2005 – A fire and explosion at the third-largest oil refinery in the United States killed 15 workers and kicked off process safety programs throughout the world.

Texas City refinery explosion

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Coordinates: 29°22'23"N 94°56'20"W

Texas City refinery explosion

The destruction in the trailer area west of the ISOM unit

Date: March 23, 2005
Time: 1:20 pm (CDT)
Venue: BP Texas City refinery
Location: Isomerization plant
Coordinates: 29°22'23"N 94°56'20"W
Type: Vapor cloud explosion
Cause: Overfilling of a blowdown stack with liquid raffinate due to faulty instrumentation and poor execution of unit start-up procedure
Deaths: 15
Non-fatal injuries: 180
Property damage: $200 million ($300 million in 2024)
Inquiries: BP's internal investigations, Baker Panel independent investigation, Chemical Safety Board investigation
Convicted: BP Products North America Inc.
Charges: Violation of section 112(r)(7) of the Clean Air Act
Verdict: BP pled guilty and settled for $50 million and a probation period of three years
Litigation: Approximately 4,000 claims
Costs: Approximately $2.5 billion of liabilities for BP

The Texas City refinery explosion occurred on March 23, 2005, when a flammable hydrocarbon vapor cloud ignited and violently exploded at the isomerization process unit of the BP oil refinery in Texas City, Texas, killing 15 workers, injuring 180 others and severely damaging the refinery. All the fatalities were contractors working out of temporary buildings located close to the unit to support turnaround activities. Property loss was $200 million ($289 million in 2022). When including costs of repairs, deferred production, fines and settlements, the explosion is the world's costliest refinery accident.

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Emergency response


Firefighting operations

The site emergency response team intervened immediately, mounting a search and rescue operation. An order was issued for the shelter-in-place of 43,000 people. Mutual aid and Memorial Hermann Life Flight resources were mobilized by 1:45 pm. The feed to the raffinate splitter was not shut down, but it stopped at 2:45 pm when electrical power went down. Fires were brought under control by 150–200 firefighters after two hours. Ambulances and Life Flight stood down by 4:44 pm. The final body was found under a heap of debris at about 11:00 pm.

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