BP hit with record safety fine

British Petroleum, one of the world's largest energy companies, has been hit with a record fine of $87m for safety violations at a Texas refinery. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) handed down the fine on Friday, saying the company had failed to correct safety shortfalls at its Texas City refinery after a blast there in 2005 killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. The fine comes after a six-month OSHA inspection at the refinery, the nation's third largest. But British Petroleum (BP) has contested the fine, saying the company believed it had honoured a 2005 agreement with the agency to fix safety problems that led to the blast. "We believe our efforts at the Texas City refinery to improve process safety performance have been among the most strenuous and comprehensive that the refining industry has ever seen," said Keith Casey, BP's manager of the Texas refinery.