TORRANCE BASIN PIPELINE COMPANY LLC

Incident Narrative

INCIDENT DESCRIPTION: ON JUNE 26TH, 2017, DURING A FACILITY WALK-AROUND AT TORRANCE METERS, A TORRANCE LOGISTICS COMPANY LLC (TLC) OPERATOR OBSERVED CRUDE OIL LEAKING FROM THE RECEIVER PIG TRAP DOOR ON THE M-131 PIPELINE. INCIDENT IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TAKEN: ON JUNE 26TH, 2017, THE RECEIVER PIG TRAP WAS ISOLATED, CRUDE OIL WAS CONTAINED AND THE IMPACTED AREA WAS CORDONED OFF. THE APPROPRIATE REGULATORY NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE AND REMEDIATION OF THE IMPACTED AREA WAS INITIATED. INCIDENT SUMMARY: A TEMPORARY PIG TRAP DOOR EXTENSION HAD BEEN RECENTLY INSTALLED TO FACILITATE PIPELINE INTEGRITY WORK (I.E., CHEMICAL CLEANING, MAINTENANCE PIGGING). THE DOOR EXTENSION DESIGN CALLED FOR INSTALLATION OF A FLANGE ON THE OVERSIZE SECTION OF THE RECEIVER TRAP, SUCH THAT THE TEMPORARY TRAP DOOR EXTENSION COULD BE UN-BOLTED FOLLOWING THE INTEGRITY WORK AND REPLACED WITH A PERMANENT SMALL PIPING SPOOL CONSISTING OF A FLANGE AND NEW PIG TRAP DOOR. FABRICATION OF THIS SMALL PIPING SPOOL WAS COMPLETED ON APRIL 20TH, AND INSTALLED ON JUNE 22ND, PRIOR TO THE INTEGRITY WORK AND STORED ON-SITE WHILE THE INTEGRITY WORK WAS UNDERTAKEN. AS PLANNED, FOLLOWING THE SCRAPER PIG RUNS AND CHEMICAL CLEANING ACTIVITY AS PART OF THE INTEGRITY WORK, ON JUNE 22ND, THE TEMPORARY TRAP DOOR EXTENSION WAS REMOVED AND THE SMALLER PIPING SPOOL WAS INSTALLED. THE LEAK ON THE NEW RECEIVER PIG TRAP DOOR OCCURRED THE FOLLOWING MONDAY. THE M-131 PIPELINE REMAINED STAGNANT BETWEEN THE TIMES THAT THE NEW TRAP DOOR WAS INSTALLED AND THE LEAK WAS OBSERVED. A PRESSURE TREND INDICATED THAT THE RECEIVER TRAP WAS EXPOSED TO LESS THAN 10 PSIG OF PRESSURE DURING THAT PERIOD. UPON INVESTIGATION, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE NEW RECEIVER PIG TRAP DOOR WAS MISSING AN O-RING. AS A RESULT, THE TRAP DOOR FAILED TO SEAL WHEN THE RECEIVER TRAP WAS EXPOSED TO THERMAL PRESSURE, WHICH HAD BUILT-UP THROUGHOUT THE DAY DUE TO AMBIENT TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON THE ABOVEGROUND SECTION OF M-131 PIPELINE. CAUSAL FACTOR: AFTER INSTALLATION OF THE NEW RECEIVER PIG TRAP DOOR, THE INSTALLATION OF THE O-RING WAS NOT VERIFIED, AND AS A RESULT, WAS MISSING. ACTION ITEM: UPDATE JSAS/PROCEDURES TO INCLUDE SPECIFIC TASK OF CHECKING FOR EXISTENCE OF AND/OR CONDITION OF O-RING'S WHERE APPLICABLE. SHARE THE INCIDENT AND ITS FINDINGS IN THE MONTHLY SAFETY MEETING