ENERGY TRANSFER COMPANY

Incident Narrative

ON DECEMBER 30, 2022 AT APPROXIMATELY 01:15 LOCAL TIME, A FIRE OCCURRED AT THE DOMINATOR COMPRESSOR STATION ON UNIT #6, 30 MILES WEST OF JAL, NEW MEXICO IN LEA COUNTY. OPERATIONS RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE 911 DISPATCHER AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS DISPATCHED TO THE STATION. THE OPERATIONS MECHANIC, WHO IS ALSO A VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER, ARRIVED WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND ESD'D THE STATION. A DECISION WAS MADE TO LET THE FIRE BURN ITSELF OUT. AT 06:00 MOUNTAIN TIME, THE STATION WAS SAFE TO ENTER AND OPERATIONS MADE AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT AND IT WAS DETERMINED THE REPAIRS AND DAMAGES WOULD EXCEED THE $123,900.00 REPORTABLE DOLLAR CRITERIA. AT APPROXIMATELY 15:30, UNIT #6 WAS ISOLATED AND THE STATION WAS PUT BACK ONLINE BY USING THE OTHER COMPRESSORS. THE UNINTENTIONAL GAS LOSS WAS CALCULATED AT 1500 MCF. THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION. COMPONENTS HAS BEEN SENT TO THE LAB FOR ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE. AND UNIT #6 WILL BE SENT TO THE MANUFACTURER TO BE DISMANTLED AND EXAMINED. A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED ONCE THE DETERMINATION HAS BEEN MADE. **3/22/2023 UPDATE** AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE LAB ANALYSIS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS DUE TO A LEAK ON THE COMPRESSOR FUEL RAIL. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE FUEL RAIL AND HANDRAIL WERE IN CONTACT FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME BASED ON THE APPEARANCE OF WEAR ON THE HANDRAIL. THE HANDRAIL EXPERIENCED VIBRATIONS OVER TIME, EVENTUALLY SHEARING THE BOLT PROVIDED AND INCREASING THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE FUEL RAIL AND HANDRAIL, THUS CAUSING THE FUEL RAIL TO LEAK FUEL GAS AND IGNITE FROM A HEAT SOURCE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY. TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCE, OPERATIONS WILL BE VISUALLY INSPECTING, IDENTIFYING, AND CORRECTING UNITS THAT MAY HAVE SIMILAR INSTALLATIONS AND PERFORM PACKAGE ASSESSMENTS DURING ROUTINE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE.