AMERICAN MIDSTREAM BAKKEN, LLC

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorAMERICAN MIDSTREAM BAKKEN, LLC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates47.75910, -103.32878

Cause

CauseEXCAVATION DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

AMERICAN MIDSTREAM RECEIVED THE COMPLETED ANALYSIS REPORT FROM STRESS ENGINEERING SERVICES REGARDING THE FAILURE OF THE PIPELINE. SES WAS ASKED TO DETERMINE THE MECHANISM OF FRACTURE FOR THE WELD NECK FLANGE. SES PERFORMED VISUAL EXAMINATION, WET FLUORESCENT MAGNETIC PARTICLE EXAMINATION, SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY(SEM) ANALYSIS, METALLOGRAPHY, HARDNESS TESTS, AND CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. BASED ON THESE TESTS AND ANALYSES, SES CONCLUDED THE FOLLOWING: 1. THE WELD NECK FLANGE SEPARATED ADJACENT TO A WELD BY BENDING OVERLOAD MECHANISM LIKELY FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE. THE FRACTURE EXHIBITED A 45 DEGREE SHEAR, DUCTILE DIMPLES, GRAIN DEFORMATION AND NECKING TYPICAL OF AN OVERLOAD FRACTURE. 2. NO BRITTLE OR FATIGUE FRACTURE FEATURES WERE EVIDENT ON THE FRACTURE SURFACE. 3. THE FERRITE-PEARLITE MICROSTRUCTURE AND HARDNESS OF THE WELD NECK FLANGE IS TYPICAL OF CARBON STEELS. NO MANUFACTURING ANOMALIES OR DISCREPANCIES WERE OBSERVED IN THIS ANALYSIS. 4. THE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WELD NECK FLANGE WAS SATISFACTORY TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFICATION ASTM A694, GRADE F52.

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.

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