PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorPLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates33.24767, -102.65461

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

APPROXIMATELY 3 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED FROM A 2-INCH DRAIN VALVE, CAUSING THE SUMP TO OVERFILL. THE FAILED VALVE HAS BEEN SENT TO A THIRD PARTY VALVE COMPANY FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED ONCE THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETE. IN THE MEANTIME, PLAINS HAS REPLACED THE VALVE AND WILL BE INSTALLING A SUMP ALARM AT THIS LOCATION. SUPPLEMENTAL NARRATIVE: IN REGARDS TO THE LOCAL DATE AND TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE DATE OF 9/14/2018 WAS PROVIDED AS THIS WAS THE EARLIEST TIME THE RELEASE COULD HAVE STARTED, BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST TIME THE FACILITY WAS VISITED PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT DISCOVERY. THE FAILURE OF THE VALVE WAS NOT DUE TO OPERATOR ERROR. THE FAILURE OF THE VALVE TO PROPERLY SEAT AND LEAK WAS DUE TO CORROSION AND AN EXCESS OF FOREIGN DEBRIS FOUND IN THE SEATS AND SEAT RETAINER. ALTHOUGH CORROSION WAS FOUND ON THE SEAT RETAINER, THIS WAS NOT THE ROOT CAUSE. THE VALVE INCORPORATES A SOFT SEAT AND ANY DEBRIS THAT GETS BETWEEN THE SOFT SEAT AND HARD BALL IS A POTENTIAL LEAK PATH.

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.

Back to All Incidents More Incidents in