SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.

Incident Narrative

ON 4/3/21 AT 9:30AM A LANDOWNER CONTACTED THE CONTROL CENTER TO REPORT SURFACE STAINING ON THE AMDEL TALPA TO BRONTE SEGMENT ROW CLOSE TO BALLINGER, TX. THE CONTROLLER CONTACTED LOCAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL TO RESPOND AND INVESTIGATE. AT APPROXIMATELY 10:30AM OPERATIONS PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE AND CONFIRMED CRUDE OIL STAINING ON THE SURFACE OF THE ROW. THE PIPELINE SEGMENT WAS ALREADY IN IDLE STATUS AND WAS SCHEDULED TO BE PURGED AT AT A LATER DATE. CLEAN UP AND REPAIR CREWS WERE MOBILIZED AND ARRIVED ON SITE AT APPROXIMATELY 4:00PM TO EXCAVATE THE AREA AND LOCATE THE FAILURE. ONCE THE FAILURE POINT WAS LOCATED A MECHANICAL CLAMP WAS APPLIED TO STOP FURTHER LEAKAGE. SUBSEQUENTLY THE PIPE IN AREA OF THE RELEASE WAS DRAINED DOWN AND THE FAILED SECTION OF PIPE WAS CUT OUT AND REPLACED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED AT A HISTORIC FULL ENCIRCLEMENT REPAIR SLEEVE. FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE FAILED PIPE SECTION AND HISTORIC REPAIR WILL OCCUR AND CAUSE OF FAILURE MAY BE UPDATED VIA A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT. ALL FREE PRODUCT WAS PICKED UP AND CONTAMINATED SOIL WAS REMOVED FOR OFF SITE REMEDIATION. FURTHER REMEDIAL EFFORTS FOUND THAT DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE SOIL/SAND IN THE AREA THE VOLUME RELEASED WAS LARGER THAN INITIALLY ESTIMATED. ON 4/4/21 AT 2:00PM IT WAS DETERMINED THAT TOTAL COSTS WOULD EXCEED $50K AND THE NRC WAS NOTIFIED AT 2:08PM ON 4/4/21 (NRC # 1301934). SINCE THE TIME OF THE PERMANENT REPAIR COMPLETION, THE TALPA TO BRONTE SEGMENT OF THE AMDEL PIPELINE HAS BEEN PURGED OF HYDROCARBONS AND IS UNDER A NITROGEN BLANKET. UPDATE: THE RESULTS OF THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS INDICATE THAT THE LEAK OCCURRED AT A FATIGUE CRACK THAT INITIATED AT THE INSIDE DIAMETER SURFACE OF THE FULL ENCIRCLEMENT REPAIR SLEEVE AT THE ROOT OF THE AXIAL LAP WELD BETWEEN THE TWO HALF SHELLS OF THE SLEEVE AND PROPAGATED THROUGH WALL. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE HALF SHELLS OF THE SLEEVE CREATED BY THE LAP WELD.