SHELL PIPELINE CO., L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorSHELL PIPELINE CO., L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.71556, -95.18056

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

WHILE PERFORMING AN IN SERVICE 10 YEAR (IFR) INTERNAL FLOATING ROOF SEAL INSPECTION OF EQ111 GASOLINE TANK AT EAST COLEX THE INSPECTOR FOUND WHAT APPEARED TO BE A TEAR IN THE IFR STRUCTURE ALLOWING APPROXIMATELY 42 BBLS OF GASOLINE TO LEAVE PRIMARY CONTAINMENT LEFT SITTING IN 2 OF THE IFR PONTOONS. UPON INTERNAL INSPECTION OF THE TANK, TEARS WERE REVEALED AT FILLET WELDS WHERE TWO TANK LEG SLEEVES WERE WELDED TO THE INTERNAL FLOATING ROOF. THE TORN WELDS ARE BELIEVED TO BE THE RESULT OF THESE TWO ROOF LEGS BEING PINNED IN THE HIGH LEG POSITION, WHILE ALL OTHER ROOF LEGS WERE PINNED IN THE LOW LEG POSITION. THESE TWO LEGS BEING PINNED IN HIGH POSITION CAUSED THEM TO SLIDE ALONG THE TANK FLOOR AS THE ROOF WAS LANDED, CAUSING THEIR COLLARS TO BEND AND TEAR AT THE WELDS, CREATING TWO POINTS FOR GASOLINE TO ENTER THE PONTOON COMPARTMENTS. CURRENTLY TANK IS OUT OF SERVICE AND REPAIR WORK IS IN PROGRESS.

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.

Back to All Incidents More Incidents in