EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO

Incident Narrative

ALL NTSB DOCUMENTATION IS FROM DOCKET NUMBER PLD21FR003 PER THE NTSB PRELIMINARY REPORT POSTED 9/21/21: ""ON AUGUST 15, 2021, ABOUT 5:29 A.M. LOCAL TIME, PIPELINE (LINE) 2000, A 30-INCH DIAMETER NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION PIPELINE OWNED AND OPERATED BY KINDER MORGAN, INC. (KINDER MORGAN) RUPTURED IN A RURAL AREA IN COOLIDGE, ARIZONA. THE FAILURE RESULTED IN AN EXPLOSION, FIRE, AND EJECTION OF A 46-FOOT SECTION OF THE PIPELINE. A HOME NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF E RANDOLPH ROAD AND N VAIL ROAD WAS DESTROYED BY THE EXPLOSION AND SUBSEQUENT FIRE, RESULTING IN TWO FATALITIES AND ONE INJURY. SHORTLY AFTER THE RUPTURE, THE KINDER MORGAN'S COLORADO SPRINGS CONTROL CENTER OBSERVED A PRESSURE DECREASE THROUGH ITS SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM AND CONTACTED FIELD PERSONNEL TO ISOLATE THE AFFECTED PIPELINE SEGMENT. ABOUT THE SAME TIME, THE CONTROL CENTER RECEIVED A REPORT OF THE FIRE FROM A NEARBY POWER PLANT. ISOLATION OF THE AFFECTED SEGMENT REQUIRED CLOSING TWO MANUALLY OPERATED VALVES, ONE UPSTREAM AND ONE DOWNSTREAM OF THE RUPTURE. KINDER MORGAN FIELD PERSONNEL MANUALLY ISOLATED THE NEAREST DOWNSTREAM VALVE ABOUT 1 HOUR AFTER THE RUPTURE BUT HAD DIFFICULTY ACCESSING THE NEAREST UPSTREAM VALVE. THE NEAREST UPSTREAM WAS ISOLATED ABOUT 2 1/2 HOURS AFTER THE RUPTURE, AND THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED AT 8:08 A.M."" THE RECORDED PRESSURE NEAREST THE INCIDENT SITE WAS 830 PSIG. EPNG CALCULATED THE PRESSURE AT THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE INCIDENT TO BE 863 PSIG. THE PIPE INVOLVED WAS 30"" OD, 0.281 WALL THICKNESS, AND SMYS OF 70,000. PER THE NTSB PIPELINE OPERATIONS AND INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT FACTUAL REPORT POSTED ON 9/15/2022: THE NTSB ""EXAMINATION FOUND EVIDENCE OF MULTIPLE COLONIES OF LONGITUDINAL CRACKS CONSISTENT WITH STRESS CORROSION CRACKING (SCC) NEAR THE LONGITUDINAL SEAM""; ADDITIONALLY, ""THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY OBSERVED INDICATORS OF HIGH PH SCC AT THE RUPTURE ORIGIN"". PER THE NTSB PIPELINE INVESTIGATION REPORT POSTED ON 4/27/2023: THE NTSB DETERMINED THAT THE PROBABLE CAUSE WAS TENTED TAPE WRAP LEADING TO SCC, A FRACTURE OF THE LONGITUDINAL SEAM WELD, AND SUBSEQUENT RUPTURE OF THE PIPE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE CAUSE WAS KINDER MORGAN'S FAILURE TO RECORD THE CORRECT COATING TYPE USED FOR THIS SEGMENT OF THE PIPELINE, LEADING TO A RISK ASSESSMENT THAT DID NOT FULLY IDENTIFY THE RISK OF SCC. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON HOW THE MISIDENTIFICATION OF THE COATING TYPE FACTORED INTO THE INCIDENT, SEE THE PARTY SUBMISSION OF KINDER MORGAN, INC. AND EL PASO NATURAL GAS COMPANY, L.L.C. TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD. IN ORDER TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCE, EPNG COMPLETED 64 EXCAVATIONS TO EVALUATE REPORTED ""LINEAR"" AND ""POSSIBLE LINEAR"" SCC ANOMALIES IDENTIFIED BY THE EMAT ILI TOOL. BY DECEMBER 22, 2022 ALL EVALUATIONS AND REMEDIATION HAD BEEN COMPLETED. ADDITIONALLY, EPNG COMPLETED ABOUT 19 MILES OF SPIKE HYDROSTATIC TESTING ON THE LINE 2000, INCLUDING AT THE RUPTURE SITE. ALL OF THE COMPANY'S CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ARE LISTED IN THE NTSB PIPELINE OPERATIONS AND INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT FACTUAL REPORT STARTING ON PAGE 78. ON 2/15/2023, EPNG RETURNED THE L2000 TO NORMAL OPERATING PRESSURES.