FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, LC

Incident Narrative

UPDATED PART D: D8 ESTIMATED PROPERTY DAMAGE UPDATED PART G: G6 EQUIPMENT FAILURE SUB-CAUSE ADDITIONAL FACTORS UPDATED PART H: NARRATIVE UPDATE: THE PUMP 4 MECHANICAL INBOARD SEAL WAS SENT TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR FAILURE ANALYSIS. THE MANUFACTURER VERIFIED THAT THE OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS THE SEAL WAS SUBJECTED TO WERE WITHIN THE SEAL'S DESIGN PARAMETERS. THE FAILURE ANALYSIS REVEALED MECHANICAL DAMAGE TO THE ROTATING AND STATIONARY SEAL FACES, SOME WEAR (FRETTING) ON THE ROTATING FACE BODY, AND A DAMAGED PIN ON THE SEAL'S STATIONARY FACE. ORIGINAL: ON OCTOBER 20, 2020 AT 16:13, THE FLINT HILLS RESOURCES (FHR) PIPELINE CONTROL CENTER (PCC) RECEIVED A SCADA SEAL LEAK ALARM WHILE PERFORMING A NORMAL STARTUP OF MINNESOTA PIPELINE (MPL). THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER CONTACTED FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL TO RESPOND AT 16:58. AT 17:29, FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE AND CONFIRMED DISCOVERY OF A CRUDE OIL RELEASE FROM PUMP 4 SCAVENGER BOX. FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL CONTACTED THE PCC AT 17:30 TO INITIATE A SHUTDOWN OF THE PIPELINE. FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL MANUALLY CLOSED HEADER ISOLATION VALVES AS WELL AS MPL 1 & 2 STATION DISCHARGE VALVES. THE MINNESOTA DUTY OFFICER WAS CONTACTED AT 18:08 (REPORT # 194835, OFFICER LARRY # 8). THE PUMP 4 INBOARD SEAL HAD FAILED CAUSING CRUDE OIL TO ENTER THE SCAVENGER BOX, FLOW TO THE SEAL FAIL POT, AND DRAIN INTO THE SUMP AS DESIGNED. CRUDE OIL LEAKED BY PUMP 4 INBOARD SEAL CAUSING THE SEAL FAIL ALARM TO BE TRIGGERED. THE SCAVENGER BOX OVERFLOWED UPON REACHING CAPACITY AND DISCHARGED APPROXIMATELY 5 BBLS OF CRUDE OIL. PUMP 4 WAS NOT RUNNING AT THE TIME OF THE RELEASE; THUS IT WAS ISOLATED. DURING INITIAL REPAIR ATTEMPTS, OPERATIONS PERSONNEL DETERMINED AT 18:26 THAT THE PUMP 4 DISCHARGE VALVE WOULD NOT FULLY SEAT AND THEREFORE REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. THE DETERMINATION TO REPLACE THE DISCHARGE VALVE INCREASED THE ESTIMATED REPAIR COSTS TO OVER THE $50,000 NRC REPORTING THRESHOLD. AT 19:18 FHR REPORTED THE RELEASE TO THE NRC (REPORT # 1290260, OPERATOR UPCHURCH). A 48-HOUR UPDATE WAS MADE TO THE NRC ON OCTOBER 22 TO REPORT NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE INITIAL REPORT (REPORT # 1290452, CLAUDIA). LOCAL PERSONNEL AND CONTRACTORS WERE ON SITE TO CLEANUP THE IMPACTED SOIL. THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER AND CONTROLLER IN TRAINING WERE SENT FOR DRUG TESTING. INITIAL INDICATIONS OF CONTROLLER ACTIONS DIDN'T IDENTIFY THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. HOWEVER, UPON REVIEW OF THE ABOVE LISTED TIMEFRAMES, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PIPELINE CONTROLLERS MAY HAVE BEEN A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR AND THAT DRUG TESTING SHOULD BE PERFORMED. DUE TO THIS DELAY IN IDENTIFICATION, THE EMPLOYEES WERE NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR ALCOHOL TESTING. BASED ON THE FOR CAUSE REVIEW, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER'S RESPONSE WAS DELAYED AND THEREFORE THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER WAS DISQUALIFIED FOR OQ TASKS 43.1 AND 43.3. THE PIPELINE CONTROLLER RECEIVED ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PRIOR TO REQUALIFYING ON THE IDENTIFIED COVERED TASKS. THE CONTROLLER IN TRAINING IS CONTINUING HIS QUALIFICATION TRAINING. TIMELINE OF EVENTS: 10/20 O 16:13 MPL STARTUP, PUMP 4 SEAL LEAK ALARM RECEIVED AT PCC O 16:58 FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL RECEIVED CALL FROM PCC O 17:29 FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE, CONFIRMED DISCOVERY OF RELEASE, CALLED PCC TO INITIATE A SHUTDOWN O 18:08 FHR CONTACTED MINNESOTA DUTY OFFICER (REPORT # 194835, OFFICER LARRY # 8) O 18:26 FHR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL DETERMINED THE NEED TO REPLACE PUMP 4 DISCHARGE VALVE O INCREASED ESTIMATED COSTS TO MEET OR EXCEED $50,000 - IDENTIFIED THAT NRC REPORTABLE CRITERIA WAS MET O 19:18 FHR CALL TO NRC (REPORT # 1290260, OPERATOR UPCHURCH) 10/21 O 03:09 MPL RESTART 10/22 O 15:50 FHR 48-HOUR UPDATE CALL TO NRC (REPORT # 1290452, CLAUDIA)