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SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date—
OperatorSUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates30.83956, -96.39200

Cause

CauseMATERIAL FAILURE OF PIPE OR WELD
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON MAY 7, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 11:26 A LANDOWNER NOTIFIED THE HOUSTON CONTROL CENTER OF A SMELL OF PETROLEUM IN THE AREA. CONTROL CENTER IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED LOCAL OPERATIONS PERSONNEL AND PROVIDED LANDOWNER CONTACT INFORMATION AND THE LANDOWNER WAS CONTACTED FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING ODOR AND SPECIFIC LOCATION. THE PIPELINE WAS SHUT DOWN BY THE CONTROL CENTER WHILE OPERATIONS PERSONNEL RESPONDED TO THE LOCATION AND PERFORMED FURTHER INVESTIGATION. AFTER ARRIVING ONSITE OPERATIONS PERSONNEL DISCOVERED SPOTTING ON THE RIGHT-OF-WAY AND SOME POOLING OF OIL ON THE SURFACE. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WERE DISPATCHED TO THE LOCATION FOR CLEANUP, EXCAVATION AND REPAIR WORK. AFTER THE AREA WAS EXCAVATED IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE RELEASE APPEARED TO BE INITIATING FROM A HISTORIC FULL SLEEVE PIPELINE REPAIR AND MORE SPECIFICALLY ALONG ONE OF THE LONGITUDINAL WELDS OF THE SLEEVE. AT THIS POINT (APPROXIMATELY 17:20) IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A MORE EXTENSIVE REPAIR WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR A RETURN TO SERVICE AND WHEN THOSE COSTS WERE COMBINED WITH ANTICIPATED SOIL REMEDIATION COSTS THE TOTAL COSTS FOR THE REPAIR AND RESPONSE WOULD EXCEED $50,000. FOR THIS REASON AT 18:19 THE NRC WAS CONTACTED AND REPORT NO. 1211501 WAS ISSUED. REQUIRED 48 HOUR FOLLOW UP REPORT (121155) WAS FILED WITH NRC ON MAY 9 AT 12:15 WHICH UPDATED THE AMOUNT RELEASED TO 14 BBLS. THE SECTION OF PIPE WITH THE FAILED, HISTORIC REPAIR SLEEVE WAS DRAINED AND CUT OUT AND REPLACED. THE PIPELINE WAS RESTARTED AFTER THIS REPAIR ON MAY 9, 2018. THE FAILED SEGMENT OF PIPE WAS FURTHER VISUALLY EXAMINED AND A CRACK IN ONE OF THE GIRTH WELDS OF THE REPAIR SLEEVE IS THE SUSPECTED CAUSE OF THE RELEASE. THE SEGMENT OF FAILED PIPE WAS PRESERVED AND SHIPPED TO THE NEAREST COMPANY FIELD OFFICE. PIPE WAS THEN SHIPPED TO 3RD PARTY LABORATORY FOR EXAMINATION TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. LABORATORY ANALYSIS CONCLUDED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED DUE TO A CRACK IN THE GIRTH WELD OF A SPLIT PIPE REPAIR SLEEVE. THE CRACK WAS DUE TO AN OVERLOAD OF A DEFECTIVE WELD.

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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