SHELL PIPELINE CORP
gas_transmission Incident — — November 15, 2013
Incident Information
| Incident Date | November 15, 2013 |
| Operator | SHELL PIPELINE CORP |
| Commodity | OTHER GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 30.09430, -90.72974 |
Cause
| Cause | MATERIAL FAILURE OF PIPE OR WELD |
| Subcause | ORIGINAL MANUFACTURING-RELATED (NOT GIRTH WELD OR OTHER WELDS FORMED IN THE FIELD) |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $6,100,000 |
| Emergency Response | $400,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
A MANUAL SURVEY OF THE DRY GAS ROW WAS BEING CONDUCTED AS DRY GAS WAS BEING RE-INTRODUCED TO THE PIPELINE. DURING THIS ASSESSMENT MULTIPLE LOCATION WERE REPORTED BY THE MAINTENANCE CREW ALONG THE ROW. PIPELINE WAS SHUTDOWN, ISOLATED AND BEGAN TO FLARE THE CONTENTS OF THE PIPELINE. THE PIPELINE WAS EVACUATED BY FLARING, FILLED WITH NITROGEN TO DETERMINE LOCATIONS WHICH INDICATE LOSS OF PRIMARY CONTAINMENT OF THE PIPELINE. PLAN OF ACTION TO TEST THE PIPELINE WITH NITROGEN, THEN WATER, THEN NITROGEN. ALL IDENTIFIED LOCATIONS WILL BE REMEDIATED. LINE WILL REMAIN DOWN UNTIL TESTS, REPAIRS ARE COMPLETED. IN TOTAL 11 LOCATIONS WERE IDENTIFIED. REPAIR METHOD WAS ONE CUT OUT AND 10 LOCATIONS WITH REPAIRS BY FULL ENCIRCLEMENT SLEEVES. THE PIPELINE WAS THEN HYRDOTESTED WITH WATER AND ESTABLISHED A NEW MOP OF 1052 PSI. THE LINE WAS THEN PRESSURED WITH NITROGEN TO 1052 PSI AND HELD FOR 8 HOURS TO VERIFY INTEGRITY OF PIPELINE. BOTH TESTS WERE SUCCESSFULL. PIPELINE WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE ON FEB. 21, 2014.
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.