EL PASO NATURAL GAS CO

Incident Narrative

ON 8/3/2019, BELEN COMPRESSOR STATION, VALENCIA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO EXPERIENCED A FIRE EYE DETECTION EVENT WHICH RESULTED IN AN ESD AT 4:10PM (MST). THE MAINLINE 1300 WEST FLOW SUCTION VALVE'S ACTUATOR PILOT MALFUNCTIONED RESULTING IN THE SUCTION VALVE NOT CLOSING UPON INITIATION OF THE ESD. THIS MALFUNCTION KEPT THE STATION PIPING FROM BEING ISOLATED WHICH RESULTED IN A CONTINUOUS RELEASE OF GAS THROUGH 6"" ESD VENT VALVE. UPON RECEIPT OF THE ORIGINAL FIRE DETECTION SYSTEM ALARM GAS CONTROL DISPATCHED AN EPNG TECHNICIAN TO THE COMPRESSOR STATION AND UPON ARRIVAL AT 5:10 PM THE TECHNICIAN DISCOVERED AND CONFIRMED THE ESD VENT VALVE WAS VENTING GAS. THE EMPLOYEE PROCEEDED TO MANUALLY CLOSE THE SUCTION VALVE AND COMPLETED THE TASK BY 5:14 PM. HE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED HIS SUPERVISOR AT 5:15 PM. AN ERL CALL WAS INITIATED AT WHICH TIME WE CONFIRMED DISCOVERY AND AN NRC REPORT WAS MADE AT 6:02 PM. THE NATURAL GAS LOSS WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 9,268 MCF. THE ACTUATOR PILOT VALVE WAS REPAIRED AND TESTED THEN PLACED BACK IN SERVICE. THE ORIGINAL FIRE DETECTION EVENT WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE BEEN A FALSE EVENT INITIATED BY LIGHTING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE STATION AS THERE WERE LIGHTING STORMS IN THE AREA AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FIRE AT THE STATION.