CENTURION PIPELINE L.P.

Incident Narrative

ON JULY 5, 2021, AT APPROXIMATELY 11:48 CST, A CENTURION PIPELINE L.P. (CPL) EMPLOYEE DISCOVERED A LEAK IN CPL'S MIDLAND STATION NEAR MIDLAND, TEXAS IN MIDLAND COUNTY, TEXAS. CPL DETERMINED THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK TO BE THE ARCO 1 PUMP SHAFT SEAL AND IMMEDIATELY ISOLATED THE LEAK. HOWEVER, 4 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED, OF WHICH, 2 BARRELS WERE PROMPTLY RECOVERED IN LIQUID FORM. CPL REMEDIATED THE CONTAMINATED SOIL ON SITE. NO INJURIES, FATALITIES, OR FIRES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACCIDENT. CPL REPORTED THE LEAK TO THE TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION, OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY AT 12:31 CST ON JULY 5, 2021 AND WAS ISSUED INCIDENT NUMBER 2439 IN REFERENCE TO THE INCIDENT. CPL'S DETAILED ROOT CAUSE FAILURE ANALYSIS DETERMINED THAT THE ARCO 1 PUMP SHAFT BEARINGS FAILED DUE TO WEAR AFTER 10 YEARS OF SERVICE CAUSING THE MECHANICAL SEAL TO DISENGAGE FROM THE SEAL SEAT AND ALLOW OIL TO LEAK FROM THE PUMP. DURING THE ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS, CPL DISCOVERED THAT THE VIBRATION TRANSMITTER WAS DISCONNECTED. WHEN CONNECTED, THE TRANSMITTER SENSES EXCESSIVE VIBRATION AND RELAYS A SIGNAL THAT WILL AUTOMATICALLY SHUT THE PUMP DOWN. CPL RECONNECTED THE ARCO 1 PUMP VIBRATION TRANSMITTER AND INSTALLED SEAL LEAK AND VIBRATION DETECTION ON BOTH ARCO 1 AND ARCO 2 PARALLEL PUMPS. CPL BELIEVES THE DETECTION OF SEAL LEAKS AND VIBRATION WILL PREVENT OR MITIGATE REPEAT INCIDENTS. SUPPLEMENTAL FINAL FILED ON 10/01/2021: DURING THE ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS, IT WAS MENTIONED THAT THE VIBRATION TRANSMITTER WAS DISCONNECTED. THIS WAS MISREPRESENTED AS HAVING ONCE BEEN CONNECTED AND DISCONNECTED BUT IS NOT THE CASE. THE VIBRATION TRANSMITTER WAS NOT CONNECTED OR INSTALLED PREVIOUS TO THE LEAK. CPL PLANS TO CONNECT AND INSTALL THE ARCO 1 PUMP VIBRATION TRANSMITTER AND STILL PLANS TO INSTALL THE SEAL LEAK AND VIBRATION DETECTION ON ARCO 2 PARALLEL PUMP.