ENERGY TRANSFER COMPANY
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 15, 2020
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 15, 2020 |
| Operator | ENERGY TRANSFER COMPANY |
| Commodity | HVL OR OTHER FLAMMABLE OR TOXIC FLUID WHICH IS A GAS AT AMBI |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 29.84732, -94.92610 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $13,400 |
| Emergency Response | $32,375 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 12/15/20 AT APPROXIMATELY 1:00PM A CONTRACTOR HEARD A FIZZLE TYPE NOISE COMING FROM THE PIG TRAP AREA OF THE P226 PROPANE LINE. HE WALKED OVER AND OBSERVED A SMALL LEAK COMING FROM THE 1INCH BYPASS LINE. THE CONTRACTOR CLOSED OFF THE AREA AND CONTACTED THE FACILITY OPERATIONS. AT 1:10PM WATER WAS INTRODUCED TO THE LEAK TO KEEP FROM FREEZING AND BLOCKING. ANOTHER LINE WAS OPENED, AND THE PROPANE WAS REROUTED TO PULL DOWN PRODUCT IN THE LINE ALONG WITH USING A FRAC TANK. PRESSURE STABILIZED AT 122 PSI. FLARES WERE BROUGHT IN TO BURN OFF REMAINING PRODUCT. NITROGEN WAS USED TO PURGE THE LINE. ONCE THE FLARE DOWN WAS COMPLETED AND THE AREA LEL WAS DOWN THE NEXT DAY, OPERATIONS WERE ABLE TO GET TO THE LEAK SITE SAFELY AND IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PIG LAUNCHER 1INCH PIPE NIPPLE CONNECTING THE 1INCH BYPASS/EQUALIZER TUBE VALVE HAD CRACKED AT THE TREADS. IT WAS CALCULATED THAT 12 BARRELS OF PROPANE WAS RELEASE FROM THE CRACKED NIPPLE. AN ENGINEERING STUDY FOR BRACING WILL BE CONDUCTED TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN."
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.