British oil giant BP Plc has agreed to pay $13 million to settle charges of failing to fix safety violations at its Texas City oil refinery after a 2005 explosion killed 15 workers.
The payment is the latest move toward resolving hundreds of violations at the plant alleged by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
BP paid $50 million in 2010 to settle some of the OSHA violations. The government had been seeking a total of $80 million in penalties, the largest fine in its history.
Resolving the fines could help BP in its effort to sell the Texas City refinery, which the nation’s sixth largest.
Overall, the company has paid more than $2 billion to settle lawsuits and fines stemming from the 2005 explosion.
