Internal investigation called for BP firings

An internal BP investigation, detailed for the first time Thursday, recommended that four executives be fired for management shortcomings in a “culture of risk taking” leading up to the 2005 explosion that killed 15 people at BP’s Texas City refinery.

The two-part report of the “management accountability” probe also chastised John Manzoni, the London-based company’s chief executive of refining and marketing, but didn’t call for his termination.


The plant blast investigation, led by BP group vice president Wilhelm Bonse-Geuking, was finished in February but remained under wraps until Thursday, after a Texas appeals court upheld a state district judge’s order that it be made public. BP fought to prevent public identification of the men recommended for firing.

The report’s unveiling on Thursday came two days after BP chief John Browne abruptly resigned, acknowledging that he had lied to a court about where he met a former companion.

Houston Chronicle