BP Decatur
Located on 1,000 acres in Northern Alabama, the
BP Decatur chemicals site makes the building blocks
for thousands of essential daily items, from plastic
water bottles to flat-screen televisions.
Using feedstock delivered by rail and barge, BP Decatur manufactures
purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and its raw material, paraxylene (PX).
Invented by BP, PTA is used in everything from drink bottles to fabrics.
Decatur also is the world’s only commercial manufacturer of naphthalene
dicarboxylate (NDC), a chemical used in new-generation polyesters and
resins to make LCD flat-panel displays, ultra-thin data storage tape and
high-strength tire cord, to name a few.
BP Decatur’s chemicals, in the form of small white pellets, are delivered by
truck and rail and shipped to manufacturing sites around the world.
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Safe, compliant, reliable
BP Decatur is committed to excel as a safe place
to work, to maintain environmental compliance and
to consistently deliver high-quality products to its
customers. Everyone at BP Decatur works as
One Team to deliver One Dream – safe, compliant,
reliable operations.
In 2009 BP Decatur earned OSHA’s highest industrial honor – designation as
a Star Site in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). Acceptance into
VPP is OSHA’s official recognition of BP Decatur’s outstanding efforts to
achieve exemplary occupational safety and health performance.
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A strong economic engine
BP Decatur has been providing steady, good-paying
jobs for Northern Alabama families since the 1960s.
Today the site has approximately 475 BP employees
and a daily range of 250-350 contract workers.
Part of the BP Western Hemisphere Aromatics business unit, the site
pumps millions of dollars into the economy through payroll and third-party
expenditures, as well as property taxes.
The site reliably meets the needs of manufacturers by helping BP produce
roughly one-quarter of the world’s PTA and all of its NDC.
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A good neighbor
BP Decatur and its workforce value community, nature
and neighbors. They live these values in a number of
ways.
BP Decatur maintains an award-winning, 530-acre wildlife habitat
site, featuring the Wetlands Edge Environmental Center. Through a
partnership with Decatur City Schools, Wetlands Edge provides hands-on,
environmental education programs for students of all ages and wildlife
tours for the public.
If there is a need in the community, BP Decatur responds with volunteer
time and donations. The United Way, Northern Alabama schools, local
chambers of commerce and numerous non-profit organizations are just a
few beneficiaries.
To develop future workers and leaders, BP Decatur reaches out to local
colleges and universities for candidates for its co-op and intern programs.
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BP Decatur
At a glance
1965
1966
BP Decatur
begins operations
1968
1971
No. 1 Paraxylene
starts up
No. 1 Ox/PTA/DMT
starts up
1965-2011
No. 3 Ox/PTA/DMT
starts up
1965-2011
BP Decatur timeline
Welcome to
BP Decatur
© 2013, BP DECATUR
1401 Finley Island Road, Decatur, Ala
(256) 340-5356
BP.COM
April
2011
1976
1975
No. 5 Ox/PTA/DMT
starts up
No. 4 Ox/PTA/DMT
starts up
1994
1978
1996
Wetlands habitat
certified by Wildlife
Habitat Council
No. 2 Paraxylene
starts up
1999
NDC unit
starts up
2009
2011
Designated OSHA
VPP Star Site for
exemplary safety and
health performance
BP Decatur
units restart
2002
Awarded EPA
grant for wetlands
enhancement
June
Wetlands Edge
Environmental Center
hosts first class
Deadly tornadoes
shut down BP Decatur
(first tornado strike at
site in 1974)