WESTERN REFINING PIPELINE, LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — July 24, 2018
Incident Information
| Incident Date | July 24, 2018 |
| Operator | WESTERN REFINING PIPELINE, LLC |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 35.73283, -107.74805 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $100 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ONE INCH NIPPLE ON DISCHARGE LINE DRAIN BROKE THE THREADS AND CAUSED A SPILL AT HOSPAH STATION. APPROXIMATELY 3.8 BBLS WERE SPILLED. 3.40 BBLS WERE RECOVERED FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL SKID, AND 16 GALLONS SPRAYED ONTO THE GROUND SURFACE. PUMPS WERE IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN AND LEAKING NIPPLE WAS ISOLATED. THE BROKEN NIPPLE HAS BEEN SENT FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. THE PART G8 APPARENT CAUSE SELECTION WILL BE CHANGED TO PART G6 ONCE WE RECEIVE THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS, COMPLETED. A FAILURE ANALYSIS CONDUCTED ON THE LEAKING THREADED VERTICAL PIPE NIPPLE REVEALED THAT A CRACK ORIGINATED AT THE ROOT OF AN UNENGAGED THREAD. THE FAILURE MECHANISM WAS METAL FATIGUE LIKELY DUE TO VIBRATIONAL TENSILE STRESSES ORIGINATING FROM THE NEARBY MAINLINE PUMP #1. EXTERNAL TENSILE STRESSES WERE EXACERBATED BY THE WEIGHT OF A BALL VALVE ATTACHED TO THE HORIZONTAL PIPE NIPPLE ATTACHED TO THE 90-DEGREE ELBOW.
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.