What happened at BP Texas City explosion?
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What happened at BP Texas City explosion?
At approximately 1:20 p.m. on March 23, 2005, a series of explosions occurred at the BP Texas City refinery during the restarting of a hydrocarbon isomerization unit. Fifteen workers were killed and 180 others were injured. Many of the victims were in or around work trailers located near an atmospheric vent stack.
How much in fines did BP pay for the Texas City incident?
$50.6 million
BP has agreed to pay a record $50.6 million fine to the federal government for safety violations found by regulators last year at its troubled refinery in Texas City, Tex., where 15 workers died in a 2005 explosion.
What caused the Texas City explosion 2005?
It is one of the worst industrial disasters to date. The explosion was caused by the overfilling of the raffinate splitter tower and a blowdown drum releasing hot hydrocarbons. The resulting vapour cloud ignited, destroying the ISOM unit.
Who owns the Texas City refinery?
Marathon Petroleum Corporation
BP has completed the previously announced sale of its Texas City, Texas refinery and a portion of its retail and logistics network in the Southeast U.S. to Marathon Petroleum Corporation for an estimated $2.4 billion.
What would happen if an oil refinery blew up?
Many chemical plant and refinery explosions lead to serious injuries and even death. Some of the most common injuries caused by industrial explosions include: Burns. The extreme heat and chemical reactions typical of plant explosions can lead to severe burns.
What is a raffinate splitter?
The raffinate splitter tower was a vertical distillation column with an inside diameter of 3.8 m and height of 52 m with an approximate liquid-full volume of 586,100 liters. The tower was fitted with 70 distillation trays that separated the light from the heavy raffinate (Figure 1).
Why do oil refineries smell?
Oil refineries and petrochemical plants create strong nuisance odors from refining crude oil into gasoline and jet fuel. Sulfides, mercaptans, and hydrocarbon compounds are some impurities removed during the refining process and can cause smells described as oily rags, rotten eggs, or rotten cabbage.
What is the difference between extract and raffinate?
Liquid extraction is the separation of the constituents of a liquid by contact with another insoluble liquid called solvent. The constituents get distributed between the two phases. The solvent rich phase is called extract and the residual liquid from which the solute has been removed is called raffinate.
What is C4 raffinate?
Mixed C4s, also known as Crude C4, Raffinate 1 or Raffinate 2, are colourless gases (liquid under pressure), with a mild, petroleum-like odour. Raffinate 1 is the product remaining when butadiene is extracted from a lower olefin stream (known as crude C4).
Who owns the largest refinery in Texas?
Saudi Aramco
The completion of the expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery, officially celebrated on 31 May 2012, increased its crude oil capacity to 600,000 barrels per day – making it the largest refinery in the US….Port Arthur Refinery.
| Refinery details | |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Saudi Aramco |
| Commissioned | 1902 |
| Capacity | 636,500 bbl/d (101,200 m3/d) |
| No. of employees | 1,450 |
Is it unhealthy to live next to a refinery?
These invisible fumes creep into the lives of thousands, and victimizes many. According to the California government, some adverse health effects living near a refinery include: increased risk of asthma, cancers, birth defects, neurological damage, cardiovascular damage, difficulty breathing, and blood disorders.
Are oil refineries toxic?
Air pollution hazards: Petroleum refineries are a major source of hazardous and toxic air pollutants such as BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene).
What is sour gas in oil field?
Sour gas is natural gas or any other gas containing significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide H2S). Sour gas reserves are historically left undeveloped because of the technical challenges and costs involved in their extraction and processing.
What is raffinate in refinery?
Definition of raffinate : a liquid product resulting from extraction of a liquid with a solvent also : the less soluble residue that remains after extraction (as in refining lubricating oil)
