Union: Refinery start set for March

Gasoline production at the BP refinery rocked by a deadly explosion last year could resume in late March, months after initially forecast.

BP officials told union members that gasoline production units won’t begin operating for about two more months, said Sonny Sanders, a representative for the United Steelworkers Union.

BP spokesman Neil Geary would not confirm a delay, but said the scope of work needed at the refinery had changed, The Galveston County Daily News reported.

The refinery closed in late September for a plant overhaul prompted by the March explosion that killed 15 workers. The blast injured more than 170 people and rattled homes as far as five miles away. Crews have been working to retool the refinery’s steam system, which includes 27 miles of pipe.

Initially, refinery officials thought production would resume at some units by the end of December. The start date was pushed back to January when problems with pipes and lines at two gasoline-producing units were found.

On Jan. 11, BP reported that the refinery’s closure and hurricane damage to its Gulf region facilities cost the company more than $900 million in the fourth quarter of 2005.

—The Associated Press