ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC
gas_transmission Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 28.74468, -99.01591 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 8/11/2016 AT 03:00 AM, GAS CONTROL NOTIFIED FIELD OPERATIONS THE PEARSALL COMPRESSOR STATION SHUT DOWN AND THE STATION WAS BLOWING DOWN. OPERATIONS ARRIVED ONSITE AT 04:59 AM AND FOUND THE COMPRESSOR SUCTION AND DISCHARGE VALVES CLOSED AND BLOWDOWN VALVE PARTIALLY OPEN. OPERATIONS DISCOVERED A 3/8""BALL VALVE WAS CLOSED, CUTTING OFF SUPPLY GAS TO THE BETTIS ACTUATOR. GAS SLOWLY LEAKED OUT OF THE BETTIS ACTUATOR CYLINDER THROUGH A PORT RESULTING IN THE BLOW DOWN VALVE OPENING PARTIALLY IN THE FAIL-SAFE POSITION. THE INITIAL GAS LOSS WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 321.70 MSCF BASED ON THE NORMAL ESTIMATED BLOW DOWN FOR THE STATION. ON 8/12/2016 AT 10:45 AM, OPERATIONS CONFIRMED THE AMOUNT OF GAS BLOWN DOWN TO BE 14 MMSCF. NOTIFICATIONS WERE THEN MADE TO THE TCEQ, NRC, AND RRC. THE SUPPLY GAS VALVE WAS FOUND TO BE IN THE CLOSED POSITION. IT IS NOT KNOWN HOW THE NORMALLY OPEN VALVE WAS INADVERTENTLY CLOSED. TO PREVENT RECURRENCE, THE VALVE WAS LOCKED OPEN AND WILL BE REPOSITIONED SO THE VALVE HANDLE IS PROTECTED FROM BEING INADVERTENTLY OPERATED WHEN THE VALVE IS OPEN. ADDITIONALLY, THE PORT PLUG LOCATED ON THE BACK OF THE ACTUATOR WAS REMOVED, TEFLON TAPPED, RE-INSTALLED AND CHECKED FOR LEAKS.
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.