CENTURION PIPELINE L.P.

Incident Narrative

ON JANUARY 24, 2020, AT APPROXIMATELY 13:35, A COMPANY AIR PATROL PILOT NOTIFIED CENTURION PIPELINE, L.P. (CPL) OF A POSSIBLE LEAK AT CPL'S MIDLAND STATION NEAR MIDLAND, TEXAS, IN MIDLAND COUNTY, TEXAS. ON JANUARY 24, 2020, AT 13:40, A CPL EMPLOYEE ARRIVED ON-SITE AND IDENTIFIED A SEAL LEAK ON THE MIXER HOUSING OF TANK 2346. CPL PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY REMOVED AND REPLACED THE SEAL. HOWEVER, FOUR (4) BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED INTO THE TANK BERM WITH ONE (1) BARREL RECOVERED IN LIQUID FORM. AFTER REPAIRING THE MIXER SEAL, CPL REMEDIATED THE CONTAMINATED SOIL ON-SITE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES, FIRES, OR FATALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACCIDENT. CPL MADE A COURTESY NOTIFICATION TO TEXAS RAILROAD COMMISSION, AND THEY ASSIGNED JOB# 210766. CPL DETERMINED THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE TO BE NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR OVER THE LIFE OF THE SEAL. IN RESPONSE TO SIMILAR FAILURES IN THE PAST, CPL REPLACES OR UPGRADES ALL MIXERS AS THE RESPECTIVE TANK IS TAKEN OUT OF SERVICE FOR SCHEDULED API 653 INSPECTIONS. IF A REPLACEMENT IS MADE, A SEAL POT LEVEL SWITCH AND VIBRATION TRANSMITTER IS INSTALLED. IF THE MIXTURE LEAKS IN THE FUTURE, AFTER THE RESPECTIVE REPLACEMENT OR UPGRADE, THE SEAL POT WILL BE FILLED CAUSING THE LEVEL SWITCH TO BE TRIGGERED RESULTING IN THE MIXER BEING SHUT OFF. THIS WILL PREVENT SEAL FAILURE. IN ADDITION, THE VIBRATION TRANSMITTER WILL SHUT DOWN THE MIXER IF EXCESSIVE VIBRATION FORCES ARE DETECTED. REGARDING TANK 2346, THE NEXT OUT OF SERVICE API 653 INSPECTION IS SCHEDULED FOR 2022, AND IN THIS CASE, THE MIXER SEAL FAILED BEFORE THE SEAL POT LEVEL SWITCH WAS SCHEDULED TO BE INSTALLED. PURSUANT TO CURRENT COMPANY PROCEDURES, THE MIXERS ARE AND WILL BE INSPECTED FOR VISIBLE LEAKS DURING CPL'S MONTHLY BREAKOUT TANK INSPECTIONS.