A Texas judge has ordered London-based BP PLC’s chief executive to give a deposition related to the explosion that killed 15 workers and injured 170 more last year at the company’s Texas City refinery, said lead plaintiff attorney Brent Coon.

The judge ruled that Lord John Browne and BP Global refining and marketing chief John Manzoni must give depositions in the lawsuit filed by accident survivors and victims’ families.

A spokesman for the London-based energy company said BP will appeal the decision. “Neither John Browne nor John Manzoni have unique knowledge of the accident at the Texas City plant,” said BP Americas spokesman Neil Chapman. He said BP attorneys have already granted plaintiffs access to upper-level executives with direct knowledge of the incident.