TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE COMPANY LLC

Incident Narrative

ON MARCH 5. 2019 AT APPROXIMATELY 08:52 PST TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE COMPANY'S M-1, 14 INCH CRUDE PIPELINE SHUT DOWN. AS PART OF THE M-1 SYSTEM, THE ROSE PUMP STATION HEATER #2 RESPONDED TO ""NO FLOW"" INDICATIONS AND SHUT DOWN, HOWEVER, HEATER #1 CONTINUED TO RUN. AT APPROXIMATELY 10:05 PST, COMPANY AND CONTRACT PERSONNEL, AT THE FACILITY, NOTICED SMOKE EMANATING FROM HEATER #1S STACK AND WHICH TIME THEY NOTIFIED THE COMPANY'S PIPELINE CONTROL CENTER IN WOODLANDS, TEXAS TO IMMEDIATELY REMOTELY SHUT DOWN HEATER #1. LOCAL PERSONNEL THEN CLOSED THE MOTOR OPERATED INLET AND OUTLET VALVES AS WELL AS THE NATURAL GAS SOURCE OF FUEL TO THE HEATER BURNERS AND THEN NOTIFIED THE KERN COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT (KCFD). THE KCFD ARRIVED ONSITE AT 10:23 PST, AND VERIFIED WITH THE ONSITE PERSONNEL THE ISOLATION OF FUEL SOURCE AND THEN WITNESSED THE SMOKE DISSIPATING OVER THE COURSE OF AN HOUR. ADDITIONALLY, FIELD PERSONNEL IDENTIFIED THE KCFD AS THE ON-SCENE COORDINATOR AND PROVIDED THEM A COPY OF THE SAFETY DATA SHEET FOR THE PRODUCT IN THE SYSTEM. AT 11:23 PST, THE KCFD THEN OPENED AND INSPECTED THROUGH THE HEATER PORTS, A SMALL FIRE IN THE UPPER NORTHWEST CORNER OF HEATER #1. AFTER AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DECIDED TO JUST LET THE FIRE BURN OUT. AT 12:15 PST THE FIRE BURNED OUT AND THE KCFD FELT THE SITUATION WAS CONTAINED AND LEFT THE SITE. DUE TO THE DISCOVERY OF A FIRE AT 11:23 PST, PBFX PERSONNEL TELEPHONICALLY CONTACTED THE NATION RESPONSE CENTER WITHIN ONE HOUR AND REPORTED A FIRE INSIDE HEATER #1 AT THE ROSE STATION. CASE # 129309. WITHIN 48 HOURS OF DISCOVERY, ON MARCH 7, 2019 NRC WAS NOTIFIED AGAIN AS REQUIRED BY 49CFR195.52(D), CASE #1239457. TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE COMPANY REPORTED NO CHANGE FROM THE INITIAL REPORT CASE # 1239309. SHUT DOWN OF THE PIPELINE AND FAILURE OF THE HEATER TO SHUT DOWN IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION, THEREFORE, A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WILL BE PROVIDED WHEN THE RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATION ARE CONCLUDED. _________________________________________________________________________________ THIS NARRATIVE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING CLARIFICATIONS: - THE SEGMENT OF PIPELINE IS M1 (ROSE-GRAPEVINE), - ...COMPANY AND CONTRACT PERSONNEL ONSITE AT THE FACILITY, - THE SAME ONSITE PERSONNEL THEN CLOSED THE MOTOR OPERATED INLET AND OUTLET VALVES, - CONTACTED THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER _________________________________________________________________________________ SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL REPORT UPDATES: PART C - QUESTION 6 - OTHER: CHANGED FROM ""UNDETERMINED"" TO ""FAILED PROTECTIVE DEVICES"" PART E - QUESTION 9 - WAS AN INVESTIGATION INITIATED... CHANGED FROM ""YES, BUT ...."" (SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT REQUIRED)"" TO ""INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED NO CONTROL ROOM ISSUES""; ""INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED NO CONTROLLER ISSUES""; ""INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED AREAS OTHER THAN THOSE ABOVE: ""IDENTIFIED AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT EXPLAINED IN NARRATIVE."" PART G - QUESTION 6, OTHER: CHANGED FROM ""UNDER INVESTIGATION"" TO ""SEE NARRATIVE"" PART H NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCIDENT- TVP HAS CONCLUDED ITS ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION ON HEATER #1 AND HAS DETERMINED THE ROOT CAUSE TO BE FAILURE OF MULTIPLE PROTECTIVE DEVICES (I.E. PRODUCT FLOW SWITCHES AND HIGH TEMPERATURE SENSORS) WHICH RESULTED IN THE TUBES OVERHEATING AND ULTIMATELY FAILING, CAUSING THE SUBSEQUENT SMALL FIRE IN THE HEATER BOX. AS PART OF THE INVESTIGATION, IT WAS ALSO DETERMINED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE PIPELINE CONTROL CENTER (PCC) OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS NEEDED TO BE MADE TO VERIFY HEATERS ARE SHUT DOWN FOLLOWING AN UNPLANNED SYSTEM SHUTDOWN RATHER THAN RELYING ON ENGINEERING CONTROLS OR PROTECTIVE DEVICES IN THE FIELD. HEATER #1 REMAINS ISOLATED FROM OPERATION AND OUT OF SERVICE; SHOULD IT RETURN TO SERVICE, TVP WILL RE-TUBE THE ENTIRE HEATER AND INSTALL NEW PROTECTIVE DEVICES PRIOR TO RESTART OF THAT HEATER. THIS CONCLUDES THE FINDINGS AND INVESTIGATION FOR THIS INCIDENT.