MID - VALLEY PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — July 11, 2023
Incident Information
| Incident Date | July 11, 2023 |
| Operator | MID - VALLEY PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 32.48361, -94.83028 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | PUMP OR PUMP-RELATED EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $171,935 |
| Emergency Response | $4,765 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 7/11/23 AT 04:18 THE CONTROL CENTER RECEIVED AN LEL, SEAL FAILURE AND FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM ALARM FOR PUMP UNIT 2120 AT LONGVIEW STATION. THE CONTROLLER SHUT THE PUMP DOWN AND NOTIFIED LOCAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE STATION, FIELD PERSONNEL OBSERVED A RELEASE OF APPROXIMATELY, 2 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL INTO SECONDARY CONTAINMENT AND NOTED THAT THE FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM HAD ACTIVATED. A MIST OF CRUDE OIL HAD IGNITED DUE TO CONTACT WITH ANCILLARY PUMP COMPONENTS THAT WERE HOT. THE FACILITY DRY CHEMICAL FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM ACTIVATED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH MINIMAL DAMAGE. AN INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THE RELEASE WAS DUE TO A PUMP SEAL FAILURE. THE SEAL FAILURE OCCURRED BECAUSE OF COUPLING MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE PUMP AND THE PUMP MOTOR WHICH CAUSED VIBRATION. FURTHER, THE MULTILIN RELAY PROTECTIVE UNIT DID NOT ACTIVATE AND SHUT THE PUMP DOWN DUE TO VIBRATION AUTOMATICALLY AS IS INTENDED. TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCE, OPERATIONS IS ADDING LOGIC TO SHUT THE PUMP UNITS DOWN WHEN THE MULTILIN LOSES COMMUNICATION AND/OR THE MULTILIN HEALTH CHECK BIT IS FAULTED. AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE BEST PIPING MODIFICATIONS TO PREVENT COUPLING MISALIGNMENT ISSUES. THE PUMP AND MOTOR ARE BEING REPAIRED AND WILL BE REINSTALLED ALONG WITH A NEW MULTILIN RELAY PROTECTIVE UNIT."
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.