EXXONMOBIL PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | EXXONMOBIL PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 30.24911, -91.17552 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 5/17/2018 @7:55 A 3RD PARTY OPERATOR CONTACTED EMPCO OF A POSSIBLE RELEASE AT EMPCO'S SHINTECH METER SITE. EMPCO DISPATCHED TECHNICIANS AND AT APPROXIMATELY 08:24 DISCOVERED A SMALL ICE BALL FORMING ON THE PACKING GLAND HOUSING OF AN ORIFICE METER. THE SYSTEM WAS SHUT-IN, AND AT APPROXIMATELY 12:11 P.M. THE SYSTEM WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE FOLLOWING THE TIGHTENING OF A LOOSE PACKING GLAND FITTING. EMPCO ESTIMATES THAT APPROXIMATELY 17.11 GALLONS (0.40 BBLS) OF ETHYLENE WAS RELEASED. THE SPILL VOLUME WAS CONSERVATIVELY ESTIMATED ASSUMING A CONTINUOUS RELEASE RATE, WITHOUT ACCOUNTING FOR ANY POTENTIAL FLOW REDUCTION RATE DUE TO OBSERVED ICE-BALL FORMATION, AND ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING THE RELEASE START TIME BASED UPON A POST-INCIDENT IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL INTERMITTENT GAS DETECTOR INDICATIONS BEGINNING AT APPROXIMATELY 1:01 AM AND AGAIN AT APPROXIMATELY 4:27 AM.
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.