SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINE, INC

Incident Narrative

SSC GAS CONTROL LOST COMMUNICATIONS WITH WELDA COMPRESSOR STATION AT 10:10 AM ON 5/2/2015. AT 10:25 AM SSC SUPPORT WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND BEGAN TROUBLESHOOTING. AFTER SUPPORT COULD NOT FIX THE ISSUE A FIELD COMMUNICATION TECHNICIAN WAS NOTIFIED AND THEY HEADED TOWARD THE STATION AT 12:30 PM. AFTER REACHING ELK STATION AT 14:00 PM AND DISCOVERING NO ISSUES WITH COMMUNICATION THE ERROR WITH THE LOCATION WAS DISCOVERED AND THE COMMUNICATION TECHNICIAN LEFT FOR WELDA STATION. SSC GAS CONTROL RECEIVED A CALL A 15:15 PM, FROM A FORMER EMPLOYEE, THAT THE WELDA STATION HAD ESD AND GAS HAD BEEN CONTINUOUSLY BLOWING SINCE 15:00 PM. SSC GAS CONTROL RECEIVED A SECOND CALL AT 15:20 FROM LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS NOTIFYING THEM OF THE BLOWING GAS. SSC OPERATIONS WERE DISPATCHED AT 15:23 PM. THE SSC COMMUNICATIONS TECHNICIAN ARRIVED, AT WELDA STATION, AT 15:51 PM AND WAS NOTIFIED TO REMAIN OUTSIDE THE FACILITY SINCE THEY WERE NOT QUALIFIED TO SHUT-IN THE BLOWING GAS. SSC OPERATIONS ARRIVED ONSITE AT 16:13 PM AND HAD THE STATION SHUT IN AT 16:43 PM. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE STATION HAD LOST COMMUNICATIONS DUE TO A POWER SURGE WHICH TRIP BREAKERS AT THE STATION INCLUDING THE BATTERY CHARGER. ONCE BATTERY BACK-UP DEPLETED ITS POWER THE STATION ESD. DURING THE ESD TWO GATES REMAINED OPEN BECAUSE OF DEBRIS IN THE ESD SIGNAL LINE THAT MADE ITS WAY TO THE POPPET BOCK, CAUSING EXCESSIVE BLOWING GAS FROM THE MAINLINE.