ENTERPRISE CRUDE PIPELINE LLC

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorENTERPRISE CRUDE PIPELINE LLC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates28.93577, -95.32058

Cause

CauseCORROSION FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON AUGUST 12 DURING UNLOADING AT OUR FREEPORT TERMINAL THE HAZARDOUS GAS ALARMS OCCURRED AT 21:51. LOCAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL VIEWED THE SITE REMOTELY VIA CAMERA AND CONFIRMED CRUDE OIL INSIDE THE METER BANK AREA AND IMMEDIATELY INITIATED SHUTDOWN OF THE OFF-LOADING OPERATION FOLLOWED BY A FACILITY SHUT DOWN. THE LEAK SOURCE WAS IDENTIFIED DOWNSTREAM OF THE MANIFOLD INSIDE THE CONTAINMENT AREA. THIS LINE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM SERVICE. THE CAUSE OF THIS RELEASE IN BEING INVESTIGATED AND A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT WILL BE PROVIDED ONCE MORE INFORMATION IS RECEIVED. UPDATE (11/8/2018): THE FREEPORT MARINE TERMINAL WAS DISCHARGING CRUDE OIL FROM SHIP, MARAN ATLAS, WHICH WAS DOCKED ON BERTH TWO. AT 2159, A LOCAL HAZARDOUS GAS ALARM WAS SET OFF AT FREEPORT MARINE TERMINAL. AT 2201, A SECOND HAZARDOUS GAS ALARM WAS SET OFF AT HOUSTON CONTROL CENTER. AT 2202, THE FREEPORT OPERATOR PANED OVER THE METER BANK CONTAINMENT WITH THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA, AND NOTICED A POSSIBLE LEAK HAD OCCURRED. AT THE SAME TIME, HOUSTON CONTROL CENTER RAN PRESSURE TRENDS AND COMPARED FLOW RATES AND NOTICED A PRESSURE DROP OCCURRED AT 2151. THE PRESSURE SWING IS NORMAL DURING UNLOADING OF A VESSEL AND NO ALARMS RELATED TO THE PRESSURE DROP WERE TRIGGERED. AT 2204, HOUSTON CONTROL CENTER CONTACTED THE FREEPORT MARINE TERMINAL TO DISCUSS POTENTIAL DISCHARGING ISSUES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING A REVIEW OF THE PRESSURE AND FLOW RATE TRENDS. AT 2204, FREEPORT MARINE TERMINAL WAS SHUT DOWN. THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS COMBINED WITH THE INTERNAL INCIDENT INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT THE HYDROCARBON AND SEDIMENT DEPOSITS COMBINED WITH THE OPERATIONAL DEAD LEG SERVICE CONDITION OF THE PIPE LINE ALLOWED ACCELERATED INTERNAL CORROSION TO OCCUR. TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCE, WE WILL PERFORM A FACILITY ASSESSMENT TO IDENTIFY ALL EXISTING OPERATIONAL DEAD LEGS. INCORPORATE ALL IDENTIFIED DEAD LEGS INTO THE EXISTING FREEPORT MARINE FACILITY FLUSH PLAN. PIPE LINE SECTIONS THAT CANNOT BE ADEQUATELY FLUSHED WILL BE EITHER IDLED OR ABANDONED. NOTE: ORIGINAL NRC #1221348, 48 HOUR UPDATE NRC# 1221531

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