British oil giant BP on Thursday agreed to pay 50 million U.S. dollars to the U.S. state of Texas for air pollution violations at BP's refinery in Texas City.

The agreement covers more than 72 emission violations since a deadly explosion in 2005 at the refinery killed 15 workers and injured 170 others.

The new payment comes on top of other fines and payments in connection with that explosion.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott accused BP of violating the state's environmental protection laws for "unlawfully emitting pollutants" during and after the 2005 explosion, according to a statement from the office.

BP had already paid the U.S. Occupational and Safety Administration 71.6 million U.S. dollars for worker safety violations and more than two billion U.S. dollars to settle claims stemming from the 2005 explosion.

Of the 50 million dollars to be paid to Texas, 500,000 dollars will go to the Texas attorney general's office to cover costs of bringing lawsuits against BP in 2009 and the rest will go to the state treasury.

"The agreement reflects the state's commitment to protecting air quality and holding polluters accountable for illegal emissions," Abbott said.

BP said in a statement that the company "has maintained a steady focus on improving safety and compliance at Texas City." The new agreement "is an important milestone in the process of operations at the facility," it said.

BP also has spent billions of dollars to cope with the aftermaths of last year's explosion at the Deepwater Horzion drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and led to the worst oil spill in the U.S.

Analysts said the agreement announced Thursday may help BP find a buyer for its Texas City refinery since the London-based oil giant will settle pollution liabilities with Texas.

BP said in February it wanted to sell the Texas City refinery.