EXPLORER PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 17, 2023
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 17, 2023 |
| Operator | EXPLORER PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 29.71731, -95.18025 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | PUMP OR PUMP-RELATED EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $12,000 |
| Emergency Response | $10,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 12.17.23 AT APPROXIMATELY 20:35 A RELEASE OF 4.1 BARRELS OF NAPTHA WAS DISCOVERED BY LOCAL OPERATIONS FROM THE INBOARD PUMP SEAL BEARING BRACKET ON UNIT 3. UPON DISCOVERY, THE LINE SEGMENT WAS SHUT DOWN AND UNIT 3 WAS ISOLATED. THE NAPTHA WAS TOTALLY CONTAINED ON THE PROPERTY AND APPROPRIATE RECOVERY AND REMEDIATION WAS CONDUCTED. THE INBOARD PUMP SEAL WAS SUBMITTED TO A THIRD-PARTY FIRM FOR A FAILURE ANALYSIS THAT INDICATED THE PRIMARY RING HAD FRETTING ON THE DRIVE NOTCHES AND THE DRIVE DENTS IN THE RETAINER WERE LIKELY SUSTAINED FROM VIBRATION AND AXIAL SHAFT MOVEMENT. THE INVESTIGATION ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE PUMP SEAL MITIGATION SYSTEM DID WORK PROPERLY DUE TO SCALE PLUGGING THE BASIN DRAIN LINE. EXPLORER IS CURRENTLY CHANGING STEEL DRAIN LINES TO STAINLESS STEEL TUBING TO ELIMINATE SCALE AND RUST BUILDUP WITHIN ANY PUMP DRAIN SYSTEMS."
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.