MARATHON PIPE LINE LLC

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorMARATHON PIPE LINE LLC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates31.81293, -103.92676

Cause

CauseINCORRECT OPERATION
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

5/4/23 @ 0545 CST, SAT POC RECEIVED A CALL REPORTING A VAPOR CLOUD FROM WHAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE OUR STATION IN ORLA JUNCTION. SAT POC PULLED UP OPERATIONAL CAMERAS AND WAS ABLE TO VERIFY VAPOR CLOUD COMING FROM THE TWO HORIZONTAL COALESCERS. CONSOLE IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO OPERATIONS TO HAVE SOMEONE DISPATCHED, AS WELL AS CONTACTED APPROPRIATE THIRD PARTIES TO SHUT DOWN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. LOCAL OPERATIONS WERE DISPATCHED TO SITE. BOTH PLANTS WERE SHUT DOWN AND INCOMING ORLA JUNCTION VALVES WERE CLOSED AT 06:30. THE VESSEL WAS ISOLATED AND THE LINE WAS CLEARED FOR RESTART ON 5/4/23 @ 09:20 CST IN PART G, INCORRECT OPERATION IS SELECTED INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE THREADS ON THE CLOSURE WERE DAMAGED OVER TIME DUE TO CROSS THREADING WHEN THE DOOR ON THE COALESCER WAS CLOSED. INCOMPLETE CLOSURE RESULTED IN THE TEARING OF AN O-RING THAT WAS NOT SEATED PROPERLY BETWEEN THE COALESCER DOOR AND BODY. UPDATED EARLIEST LOCAL TIME AN ACCIDENT CRITERION WAS MET TO 03:26. CHANGED FROM NO PROCEDURE ESTABLISHED TO FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROCEDURE. A14 WAS CHANGED FROM ONSHORE PIPE TO METERING STATION. THE O-RING INVOLVED IN THIS INCIDENT WAS COMPRISED OF A FLUOROELASTOMER MATERIAL, SUCH AS VITON.

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.

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