WEST TEXAS GULF PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — November 10, 2015
Incident Information
| Incident Date | November 10, 2015 |
| Operator | WEST TEXAS GULF PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 31.77691, -96.39599 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | OTHER INCORRECT OPERATION |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $65,000 |
| Emergency Response | $1,500 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON NOVEMBER 10. 2015 PERSONNEL WERE WORKING TO COMPLETE A ~10' FLANGED SPOOL PIECE REPLACEMENT ON THE INCOMING COLORADO CITY TO WORTHAM PRESSURE RELIEF SYSTEM AT WORTHAM STATION. THE INCOMING LINE WAS SHUT DOWN AND THE AREA WHERE THIS WORK WAS BEING DONE WAS INSIDE THE STATION WAS DRAINED UP. THE VALVE BEING UTILIZED AS POSITIVE ISOLATION FOR THE SPOOL PIECE REPLACEMENT WAS A RELIEF VALVE AND REMAINED CHARGED WITH NITROGEN PRESSURE. UPON LOOSENING THE FLANGE BOLTS ON THE SPOOL PEICE THE RELIEF VALVE INTERNAL MECHANISM FAILED CAUSING A PRESSURIZED RELEASE OF APPROXIMATELY 1 BBL OF CRUDE OIL. SUBSEQUENT TO THE RELEASE THE RELIEF VALVE AND ALL PIPING DAMAGED FROM THE EVENT WAS REPLACED PRIOR TO PLACING THE RELIEF SYSTEM BACK INTO SERVICE. THE CAUSE OF THE EVENT WAS DETERMINED TO BE INADEQUATE HAZARD IDENTIFICATION DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORK PLAN WHICH LED TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RELIEF VALVE AS AN EFFECTIVE POSITIVE ISOLATION AND FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THE ENERGIZED VALVE AS A HAZARD.
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.