PHILLIPS 66 PIPELINE LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — October 24, 2025
Incident Information
| Incident Date | October 24, 2025 |
| Operator | PHILLIPS 66 PIPELINE LLC |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 39.79670, -104.94196 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $10,000 |
| Emergency Response | $80,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"WHILE RECEIVING DELIVERY FROM PIPELINE INTO TANK 103 AT DENVER PRODUCTS TERMINAL A TANK OVERFILL OCCURRED RELEASING 3,165-BBLS OF DIESEL TO SECONDARY CONTAINMENT. OPERATIONS RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION FROM THIRD PARTY OF A POTENTIAL RELEASE ON TANK 103. FACILITY TECH CONTACTED CONTROL CENTER AND DIRECTED CONTROLLER TO SWITCH DELIVERY TO SECONDARY TANK. OPERATIONS WERE DISPATCHED TO TERMINAL AND DISCOVERED RELEASE. THE FACILITY WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN, AND RESPONSE WAS INITIATED. 2,173-BBLS OF FREE PRODUCT WERE RECOVERED AND RETURNED TO TANKAGE; 992-BBLS WERE RECOVERED IN SATURATED SOIL AND DISPOSED. INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING TO DETERMINE CAUSE. UPDATE 1/27/2026: INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT THE TANK 103 RADAR GAUGE WAS FOUND TO BE MISALIGNED WHICH CAUSED IT TO MALFUNCTION BY INTERMITTENTLY SENDING INVALID LEVELS TO THE TANK GAUGING COMPUTER DUE TO LOW SIGNAL STRENGTH. AS A RESULT, HIGH LEVEL ALARMS WERE NOT SENT TO THE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER. THE RADAR GAUGE TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER ANTENNA IS MOUNTED TO A FLANGED MANWAY BY A BALL JOINT ATTACHMENT USED TO ALIGN THE TRANSMITTER/RECEIVER ANTENNA. FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BALL JOINT WAS LOOSE AND THIS CONTRIBUTED TO THE ANTENNA SHIFTING OUT OF ALIGNMENT. DURING INVESTIGATION NO DEFINITIVE CAUSE OF HOW THE BALL JOINT BECAME LOOSE COULD BE DETERMINED. ADDITIONALLY, AN INTERMITTENT
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.