**BP has been fined a record $87m (£53m) for failing to correct safety hazards at its Texas City refinery in the US.**An explosion in 2005 at the Texas plant killed 15 people and injured 170 more.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited 270 violations at the oil refinery, a US Labor Department official said.
BP said it believed it was in “full compliance” with a 2005 settlement agreement with OSHA and would work with the agency to resolve the issue.
The $87m fine is the largest in OSHA’s history.
It follows a six-month inspection into whether BP had complied with an agreement to repair hazards at the refinery.
OSHA said the company had committed hundreds of new violations by failing to follow industry controls on pressure relief safety systems and other precautions.
“While we strongly disagree with [OSHA’s] conclusions, we will continue to work with the agency to resolve our differences,” BP said in a statement.
BP was fined $50m by the Department of Justice in 2007 for the Texas explosion, which lawyers for the victims’ families said was not enough.