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NUSTAR PIPELINE OPERATING PARTNERSHIP L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date—
OperatorNUSTAR PIPELINE OPERATING PARTNERSHIP L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates30.13207, -91.24180

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

AT 8:30 AM ON 1/4/23, AN EMPLOYEE FROM TEXAS BRINE REPORTED AN AMMONIA ODOR NEAR VALVE 2-6. A NUSTAR EMPLOYEE ARRIVED AT THE LOCATION AT 10:30 AM AND VERIFIED SOME BUBBLING THROUGH THE WATER NEAR THE UPSTREAM STOPPLE TEE AT VALVE 2-6 AT 10:45 AM. VALVE 2-5A (WHITE CASTLE STATION SUCTION) WAS CLOSED TO ISOLATE THE RELEASE AREA AT 11:43 AM. VALVE 2-6 WAS CLOSED AT 11:44 AM. THE PIPELINE WAS SHUT DOWN AT 11:45 AM, VALVE 2-3 UPSTREAM OF WHITE CASTLE WAS CLOSED AT 12:30 PM, AND VALVE 2-8 DOWNSTREAM OF THE RELEASE SITE WAS CLOSED AT 12:40 PM. NOTIFICATION CALLS WERE MADE TO AGENCIES BEGINNING AT 12:14 PM. THE INITIAL INDICATION WAS THAT THE LEAK WOULD NOT EXCEED THE REPORTABLE QUANTITY OF 100 LBS / 24-HOUR PERIOD. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PERSONNEL AND REPAIR CREWS MOBILIZED TO THE SITE ON 1/5/23, AND REPAIR PLANS WERE DEVELOPED. THE RELEASE VOLUME WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 1.039 BBLS, AND THE AGENCIES WERE UPDATED ON 1/6/23. AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND ENGINEERING ANALYSIS, THE UPDATED RELEASE VOLUME WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 15 BARRELS. THE LINE WAS EXCAVATED, REPAIRED, AND RETURNED TO SERVICE ON 1/12/23 AT 9:08 AM. THE STOPPLE TEE FITTING WAS CUT OUT AND SENT FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. THE FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS WERE: THE FAILURE RESULTED FROM WELD DEFECTS, WHICH FACILITATED CRACK INITIATION AND PROPAGATION. NUMEROUS WELD DEFECTS WERE OBSERVED TO BE PRESENT AT THE FAILURE LOCATION IN THE STOPPLE SEAM WELD, INCLUDING OFFSET, LACK OF FUSION, AND LACK OF PENETRATION. ADHERENT REGIONS CONTAINING HEAVY HIGH-TEMPERATURE OXIDES WERE ALSO OBSERVED, INDICATING POOR FUSION WELD FUSION REGIONS AND THE PRESENCE OF OXYGEN INGRESS DURING THE WELDING PROCESS. OBSERVED TEARING AT THE ID OF THE STOPPLE WELD AND THE PRESENCE OF ACICULAR FERRITE AT THE ID MAKES TEARING DUE TO THERMAL STRESS SHORTLY FOLLOWING WELDING LIKELY, INDICATING CRACK INITIATION DUE TO WELDING IS HIGHLY LIKELY. THE COMBINATION OF THE WELD DEFECTS AND INITIAL FRACTURE INITIATION FACILITATED CREVICE CORROSION TO OCCUR. EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE WAS PRESENT BEYOND THE FRACTURE INITIATION REGION, INDICATING CYCLIC FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION WAS ALSO OCCURRING.

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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