"MOUNTAINWEST PIPELINE, LLC"
gas_transmission Incident — — April 23, 2024
Incident Information
| Incident Date | April 23, 2024 |
| Operator | "MOUNTAINWEST PIPELINE, LLC" |
| Commodity | NATURAL GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 39.90080, -110.05741 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | COMPRESSOR OR COMPRESSOR-RELATED EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 4/23/2024 WILLIAMS REPORTED AN EVENT TO THE NRC DUE TO THE TOTAL VOLUME OF GAS RELEASE EXCEEDING 3 MMSCF. THE TOTAL VOLUME RELEASED THAT DAY WAS 17.76 MMSCF TOTALING BETWEEN TWO PSV'S ON MAINLINE 40 AT THE JL40-47 JUNCTION AND GREEN RIVER METER STATION, BUT BOTH RELEASED GAS DUE TO THE SAME CAUSE. AT THE TIME OF THE INITIAL RELEASE OPERATIONS WAS ON SITE PERFORMING OTHER WORK AT THE JL40-47 JUNCTION. AT THE TIME OF THE RELEASE THERE WERE TWO COMPRESSOR STATIONS THAT WERE DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE, THIS LEFT ONLY ONE COMPRESSOR STATION AVAILABLE IN THE AREA TO MOVE GAS. AN ISSUE ON THE FUEL CONTROL VALVE WITH THE COMPRESSOR THAT WAS RUNNING CAUSED REPEATED SHUTDOWNS. THESE REPEATED SHUTDOWNS CAUSED GAS TO BACKUP ON THE SYSTEM AND PRESSURES BUILT UP, ULTIMATELY CAUSING THE TWO PSV'S TO LIFT ON THE MAINLINE RESULTING IN THE GAS RELEASE THAT WAS REPORTED. THE FUEL VALVES WERE OPERATED IN SAFE MODE TO SUBVERT A POWERED HOUR LIMITATION SET BY SOLAR TO KEEP FLOW THROUGH ON THE LINE, HOWEVER THEY HAD TO BE RESTARTED EVERY HOUR TO MAINTAIN THIS."
About This Pipeline Incident
Pipeline incident data is reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). All significant incidents involving fatalities, injuries, or property damage over $50,000 must be reported.