ENBRIDGE STORAGE (CUSHING) L.L.C.
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 4, 2018
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 4, 2018 |
| Operator | ENBRIDGE STORAGE (CUSHING) L.L.C. |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 35.94063, -96.74844 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $8,368 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON DECEMBER 4, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 20:10 CST, A MINOR IGNITION OF FLAMMABLE VAPORS OCCURRED DURING A FLANGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT ON THE ENTERPRISE MANIFOLD WHERE THE 24"" PIPELINE TRANSFERS PRODUCT FROM ENBRIDGE MANIFOLD 226 INTO THE SEAWAY 1 PIPELINE SYSTEM. THIS EVENT OCCURRED WHILE PIPELINE MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL WERE CUTTING THE 24"" PIPELINE WITH A CUTTING TORCH. A VAPOR BARRIER TOOL AND MUD HAD BEEN INSTALLED IN THE PIPELINE IN AN EFFORT TO ISOLATE THE AREA FROM FLAMMABLE VAPORS. A VENT LINE WAS ADDITIONALLY INSTALLED AND ROUTED 50-60 FEET AWAY PRIOR TO BEGINNING THE CUTTING PROCESS. THE WORK AREA HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHUT DOWN/ISOLATED AS PART OF THE PROJECT PLAN. THE CAUSE OF THE IGNITION WAS DETERMINED TO BE ESCAPING VAPORS DUE TO THE IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE THREADED VENT PIPE CONNECTION. NO INJURIES OR RELEASE OF PRODUCT OCCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE EVENT. THE NRC WAS NOTIFIED OF THE VAPOR IGNITION ON DECEMBER 4, 2018 AT 20:56 CST (#1232055) AND THE 48-HOUR FOLLOW-UP CALL WAS MADE ON DECEMBER 5, 2018 AT 08:36 CST (#1232075).
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.