Lawyers say greed at heart of BP blast trial

Undated file photo of a BP logo.

GALVESTON, Texas (Reuters) - Lawyers for some survivors of a 2005 explosion at a Texas refinery said the energy giant BP (BP.L) put money before safety in opening arguments on Wednesday.

"In 2004, that one plant made a profit. It made a profit of almost $1 billion (495 million pounds)," Brent Coon, a lawyer for four of the survivors, told the jury sitting in the Galveston courtroom of Judge Susan Criss during opening arguments.

"Despite being a company where one plant makes a profit of $1 billion, they didn't fix this unit," he said.

Fifteen workers were killed by the March 23, 2005 explosion on an octane-enhancing unit at the Texas City, Texas, refinery.

U.S. safety investigators found the company's management cut the refinery's budget and failed to heed warning signs of a possible catastrophic accident at the refinery.

Lawyers for BP argued the company's giant Texas refinery was run in line with the safety standards accepted by U.S. refiners in 2005.

"One of the problems you have is you look back through the accident," said BP attorney Otway Denny. "When you look back through the accident it's 20/20 (hindsight). You have to put yourself back before the accident."

BP's lawyers also said the company settled more than 1,300 claims from many survivors who had suffered severe burns or lost limbs in the blast as well as with the relatives of those who had been killed.

The most recent settlement was reached on Tuesday for undisclosed sum. That settlement concerned the survivors of a plant worker who committed suicide in the weeks following the blast.

BP has admitted responsibility for the failures leading to the blast and has set aside over $2 billion to settle claims against the company.

The Texas City refinery, the company's largest, has a crude oil processing capacity of the 460,000 barrels per day (bpd). It has been running at half its capacity since Hurricane Rita threatened the Texas coast in September 2005.

BP has said the refinery, the third largest of all U.S. refineries, will reach an operating throughput of 400,000 bpd by the end of the year.