BP Texas city: Lessons learned?

After the catastrophic explosion in Texas City that destroyed a production facility at the 440,000 bbl/d oil refinery, multiple investigations and recommendations emerged. One recommendation involves the BP's board of directors, and that they should commission an independent panel to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of BP North America's corporate oversight of safety management systems at its refineries and its corporate safety culture. Another is an urgent recommendation to the API that it should revise its Recommended Practice 752, Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Buildings, to ensure the safety of occupied structure away from hazardous areas of process plants. Another recommendation involves the API and the United Steelworkers union to jointly develop performance indicators for process safety in the refining industry. Also, it was recommended that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration strengthen the planned comprehensive enforcement of its process safety management standard by hiring a group of highly-trained, experienced inspectors. Another recommendation encompasses the BP Board of Directors and that they should appoint an additional non-executive member with specific expertise in refinery operations and process safety.