KINDER MORGAN CRUDE AND CONDENSATE LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — May 2, 2015
Incident Information
| Incident Date | May 2, 2015 |
| Operator | KINDER MORGAN CRUDE AND CONDENSATE LLC |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 29.21428, -97.51892 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | OTHER EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $2,561 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON 5/2/15 AT APPROXIMATELY 12:30, THE KINDER MORGAN SMILEY OIL TERMINAL EXPERIENCED A RELEASE OF APPROXIMATELY .48 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL. UPON RETURNING FROM LUNCH, LOCAL ONSITE TECHNICIANS OBSERVED THE PROVER LEAKING AND IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE HOUSTON CONTROL CENTER (HCC). THE HCC ISOLATED THE PROVER, STOPPING THE LEAK. THE LEAK RESULTED IN .48 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL BEING RELEASED INTO ENGINEERED CONTAINMENT. THE RELEASE WAS IMMEDIATELY CLEANED UP AND ALL PRODUCT WAS RECOVERED. AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION AS WELL AS INVESTIGATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER HAS CONCLUDED THE RELEASE WAS A RESULT OF EQUIPMENT FAILURE RESULTING FROM A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. DURING ASSEMBLY THE SOCKET HEAD CAP SCREWS WERE NOT PROPERLY INSTALLED OR PROPERLY TIGHTENED PRIOR TO INSTALLATION INTO THE PROVER. AS A RESULT, THE SOCKET HEAD CAP SCREWS LOOSENED AND/OR BROKE OFF, CAUSING THE DOWNSTREAM SHAFT TO COME LOOSE. THE DOWNSTREAM SHAFT THEN IMPACTED THE DOWNSTREAM STOP, CAUSING IT TO COME LOOSE AS WELL CAUSING THE LEAK.
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.