PHILLIPS 66 PIPELINE LLC

Incident Narrative

AT APPROXIMATELY 1:05 PM THE BORGER CRUDE TERMINAL OPERATOR DISCOVERED CRUDE OIL LEAKING FROM THE BOTTOM OF A 12"" GENERAL TWIN SEAL (GTS) VALVE AT TK 1501. THE CRUDE BLEND SYSTEM WAS SHUT DOWN AND THE VALVE WAS CLOSED TO ISOLATE THE LEAK. NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE EFFORTS WERE INITIATED TO CONTAIN AND CLEAN UP THE SPILL. MAINTENANCE DISCOVERED THAT A 1/4 INCH NIPPLE ON THE BOTTOM PLATE OF A 12 INCH GTS VALVE HAD CORRODED AND BLOWN OUT OF THE VALVE. THE THREADS ON THE VALVE PLATE APPEARED TO NOT ENGAGE PROPERLY WHEN REPLACED WITH A NEW 1/4 INCH NIPPLE. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NIPPLE CONFIRMED THAT THE NIPPLE HAD CORRODED FROM BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CORROSION. BASED ON THIS AND THE OBVERVATIONS IN THE FIELD AFTER THE INCIDENT, IT IS LIKELY THE VALVE PLATE THREADS WERE DEFECTIVE, AND THE NIPPLE THREADS DID NOT ENGAGE PROPERLY IN THE VALVE THUS CAUSING SOME CRUDE TO LEAK INTO THE THREAD AREA AND START CORROSION. FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION, THE THREADS ON THE BOTTOM PLATE WERE DRILLED OUT AND ENLARGED TO 1/2 INCH TO ENSURE THE NIPPLE WOULD PROPERLY ENGAGE WITH THE THREADS. A NEW 1/2 INCH NIPPLE WAS INSTALLED. ALL OTHER 1/4 INCH NIPPLES ON TWIN SEALS VALVES IN SIMILAR SERVICE AT THE BORGER CRUDE TERMINAL WERE INSPECTED AND ALL WERE FOUND TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION WITH NO CORROSION. 09/30/2024 - UPDATED BY PHMSA PER OPERATOR APPROVAL.