place

Texas City refinery explosion

2005 disasters in the United States2005 in Texas2005 industrial disastersBPDisasters in Texas
Explosions in 2005Fires in TexasGalveston Bay AreaGalveston County, TexasIndustrial fires and explosions in the United StatesMarch 2005 events in the United StatesPetroleum in TexasSource attributionTexas City, TexasUse mdy dates from April 2012
BP Texas City Explosion Aftermath
BP Texas City Explosion Aftermath

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 ($300 million in 2024). When including costs of repairs, deferred production, fines and settlements, the explosion is the world's costliest refinery accident. The direct cause of the accident was the ignition of a heavy hydrocarbon vapor cloud which emanated from raffinate liquids overflowing from the top of a blowdown stack. The source of ignition was probably a running vehicle engine. The release of liquid followed the automatic opening of a raffinate splitter column overpressure protection caused by overfilling. Subsequent investigation reports by BP, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), and an independent blue-ribbon panel led by James Baker identified numerous technical and organizational failings at the refinery and within corporate BP.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Texas City refinery explosion (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Texas City refinery explosion
Ave G,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Texas City refinery explosionContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 29.373055555556 ° E -94.938888888889 °
placeShow on map

Address

Ave G

Ave G
77590
Texas, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

BP Texas City Explosion Aftermath
BP Texas City Explosion Aftermath
Share experience

Nearby Places

Texas City Dike
Texas City Dike

The Texas City Dike is a levee located in Texas City, Texas, United States that projects nearly 5 miles (8.0 km) south-east into the mouth of Galveston Bay. It is flanked by the north-eastern tip of Galveston Island and the south-western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula. The dike, one of the area's most beloved and enduring landmarks, was originally designed to reduce the impact of sediment accumulation along the lower Bay.The Bay itself connects the Houston Ship Channel, one of the nation's most important commercial waterways, and the Port of Houston with the Gulf of Mexico 35 nautical miles (65 km) distant. However, as Texas City expanded from its industrial roots to become a thriving residential community, the dike's purpose changed, and it became the city's best hope against a catastrophic incursion of water surging westward into the low-lying community from a hurricane landfall in the Bay. It was hoped that the dike, Texas City's primary defense against potential encroachment of water from Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, would lessen or even entirely deflect substantial damage to the city from such a potentially cataclysmic event. The Texas City Dike juts out into Galveston Bay on the easternmost end of Texas City. The dike is parallel to and north of the 50-foot deep, 600-foot wide Texas City Channel, which allows shipping traffic to access the Port of Texas City. The dike's structure consists of a 28,200-foot-long (approximately 5.34 miles) pile dike paired with a rubble-mound dike that runs along the south edge of the pile dike (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2007). The Texas City Dike was built to protect the Texas City Channel from cross currents and excessive silting, although the channel must still be dredged frequently to prevent shoaling in the waterway.