BP's Texas refinery blast executive to leave

The BP executive in charge of the Texas City refinery hit by a fatal blast two years ago is to step down at the end of August, the oil giant said today.

John Manzoni is quitting the group after 24 years to join Canadian oil and gas firm Talisman Energy as president and chief executive.

He will remain with BP for a three-month handover, with executive director Iain Conn taking over his role as chief executive of refining and marketing tomorrow.

Mr Manzoni was responsible for BP’s refining business at the time of the Texas City refinery explosion in March 2005, which killed 15 workers.

BP was accused of safety process failings at its five US refineries in an independent report commissioned in the aftermath of the fire.

The group said that Mr Manzoni’s decision was “not connected at all” with the findings of the report, which was carried out by former US secretary of state James Baker.

Mr Manzoni’s departure comes just weeks after former BP chief executive Lord Browne resigned after admitting lying to a court about his private life.

Lord Browne was replaced by Tony Hayward, but Mr Manzoni was also known to be a strong contender for the top post.

He first joined BP in 1983 as a petroleum engineer and rose up the ranks to become chief executive and executive vice president of gas and power in 2001, before taking on the refining role a year later.

His successor, Mr Conn, has also worked for BP for more than 20 years.

He most recently headed up a number of divisions, including safety and operations, which was set up in the wake of the Texas City incident.

Mr Conn will not be directly replaced, with his responsibilities shared among BP’s executive board.