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* 'Inadequate management' cause of 75 incidents reviewed
* BP trails other rivals in safety risk mitigation
* 2015 internal report says 'highly material safety risks'remain
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - BP's refining operationsare exposed to high safety risks that can lead to deadlyaccidents and pollution as a result of slack management and alack of investment, according to a leaked internal report from2015.
The report, co-authored by BP, IBM and industryconsultancy WorleyParsons, states that the Britishcompany's refining and petrochemical business, known asdownstream, is trailing rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell by upto seven years in managing information to reduce safety risksand financial losses.
"Inadequate management and use of engineering informationhas been a root cause or contributing factor" in 15 percent of500 high-risk incidents reviewed in the report, which wasprovided by Greenpeace.
BP has strived to improve its safety record since the 2010Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico where 11people were killed and which led to the largest environmentaldisaster in U.S. history.
In comments on the leaked report, BP said it was "committedto safe, reliable and compliant operations. With that in mind,BP regularly conducts internal assessments in an effort to makeimprovements to its operations".
"This particular report focused on potential enhancements tohow BP manages engineering data. It is not an analysis of anyoperational incidents, and any suggestion that this reportindicates BP is wavering from its safety commitment is wrong," acompany spokesman said.
The most significant incident recorded by the authorsoccurred in January 2014 at the 413,500 barrels per day (bpd)Whiting, Indiana refinery which cost BP $258 million in lostproduction. The incident at the gasoil hydrotreater unit, whichremoves sulphur from oil, was due to "multiple deficiencies inengineering information management".
At the Hull petrochemical plant in northern Englandequipment that was not operated correctly led to losses of $35million to $45 million.
BP's safety record came in to focus in 2005 when a blast atits Texas City refinery killed 15 workers and injured 180others. BP was fined $84.6 million by the U.S. OccupationalSafety and Health Administration between 2005 and 2012 forsafety rules violations found at the refinery in investigationsfollowing the blast.
The report said highly material safety risk and financialperformance issues remained due to "the lack of refining andpetrochemicals-wide direction, governance, coordination andinvestment".
The upstream segment, which produces oil and gas, hasfurther work to do but is however significantly ahead of downstream, the report said, reflecting the big focus BP hasplaced on safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Greenpeace UK's senior climate adviser Charlie Kronick saidin a statement that "BP's sloppy approach to a crucial aspect ofsafety hasn't changed".
"The same happy-go-lucky attitude that played a role inmajor accidents in the past is seemingly still reflected in themanagement of safety information across the oil giant'soperations from rig to refinery." (Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Susan Thomas)
