A pipeline leak over the weekend at BP's Texas City refinery spilled 120 barrels of gasoline onto the grounds but was quickly contained and did not injure any workers, BP and government officials said.
The leak was detected late Friday night in a pipeline that runs along the border between the refinery and a Dow chemicals plant, BP said in a statement.
The company blamed the spill on a failed O-ring, a part that fuses two pipe segments.
"The leak was quickly detected, contained, cleaned up and the line repaired. There was no disruption of supply. No impact to community. All agencies notified," BP said.
Government agencies have criticized BP for safety lapses in Texas City after a March 2005 explosion killed 15 workers and injured scores more. Even so, the plant has continued to have problems.
In April, more than 100 workers at the refinery were sent to area hospitals after complaining of flulike symptoms while doing repairs on an oil processing unit.
The company said it found no leak or other explanation for the symptoms. Some employees have taken legal action to force BP to release details of its investigation.
Bruce Clawson, Texas City's emergency management coordinator, said BP notified him of the leak early Saturday morning. Because the leak was quickly contained and no injuries were reported, he said, no emergency vehicles went to the scene.
BP is spending more than $1 billion to upgrade the Texas City refinery, which has been operating at half its 446,000-barrel-per-day capacity.
The company expects to have the plant running at 400,000-barrels per day by the end of the year, with the remainder coming online by mid-2008.
The leak was detected late Friday night in a pipeline that runs along the border between the refinery and a Dow chemicals plant, BP said in a statement.
The company blamed the spill on a failed O-ring, a part that fuses two pipe segments.
"The leak was quickly detected, contained, cleaned up and the line repaired. There was no disruption of supply. No impact to community. All agencies notified," BP said.
Government agencies have criticized BP for safety lapses in Texas City after a March 2005 explosion killed 15 workers and injured scores more. Even so, the plant has continued to have problems.
In April, more than 100 workers at the refinery were sent to area hospitals after complaining of flulike symptoms while doing repairs on an oil processing unit.
The company said it found no leak or other explanation for the symptoms. Some employees have taken legal action to force BP to release details of its investigation.
The facility has had small leaks previously this year.
But Andrea Morrow, spokeswoman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said an agency investigator sent to the plant Saturday morning found last week's leak could not have been foreseen.Bruce Clawson, Texas City's emergency management coordinator, said BP notified him of the leak early Saturday morning. Because the leak was quickly contained and no injuries were reported, he said, no emergency vehicles went to the scene.
BP is spending more than $1 billion to upgrade the Texas City refinery, which has been operating at half its 446,000-barrel-per-day capacity.
The company expects to have the plant running at 400,000-barrels per day by the end of the year, with the remainder coming online by mid-2008.
