Q I fully agree with what you say, and the points you make, none of which alters the validity of the points I made regarding AMOCO's management and maintenance regime, unless of course you are trying to say that everything was perfect with that refinery up until the second BP took it over in 1998, I hope not as, as a contention, it is ridiculous.

AMOCO engineers have advised modifications and had specified new types of safety valves on the section of the plant that failed, when maintenace was done AMOCO fitted a direct change out of the equipment modifying and changing nothing. Now BP cannot be held responsible for that, OSHA must have been aware of and must have reviewed plant maintenance and raised no objection.

At the time BP took over had OSHA given the plant a clean bill of health? I would rather think that it did have an operating licence. During turn-over BP would have worked closely with AMOCO but as personnel changes were few, if any, then what was done before would continue to be done, existing "company culture" would prevail irrespective. Completely different thing if everyone had been sacked and new people brought in.

I worked for BP for four years as a contractor, I have worked for a number of other Operator Companies and can state by experience that without any shadow of a doubt that BP was best of the lot, but that was in the days BP had its own Engineering Department and shadowed absolutely everything that any supplier of services or equipment did from start to finish.