"PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P."
hazardous_liquid Incident — — April 17, 2015
Incident Information
| Incident Date | April 17, 2015 |
| Operator | "PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P." |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 35.01975, -119.06454 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | THREADED CONNECTION/COUPLING FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $20 |
| Emergency Response | $5,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"APPROXIMATELY 0.95 BBLS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED FROM A 1-INCH PIPE NIPPLE, POSITIONED ON THE HIGH PRESSURE SIDE OF A MANIFOLD. PLAINS SCADA SYSTEM HELPED THE CONTROLLER IDENTIFY THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH A BACK PRESSURE CONTROL VALVE SO THE SYSTEM WAS SHUT DOWN AND A FIELD OPERATOR WAS DISPATCHED. UPON ARRIVAL, THE OPERATOR DISCOVERED THE SMALL LEAK. A 1-INCH NIPPLE FAILED AS A RESULT OF THE PRESSURE CONTROL VALVE NOT OPENING AND DIVERTING THE FLOW OF OIL. THIS THEN CAUSED THE RELIEF VALVE TO LIFT AND RESEAT CAUSING VIBRATION. THE DEFECTIVE NIPPLE WAS REMOVED AND PLUGGED AT THE 1-INCH TEST BRANCH CONNECTION. TO CORRECT THE VIBRATION ISSUE, PLAINS HAS CHANGED OUT THE POTENTIOMETER ON THE CONTROL VALVE AND ELIMINATED THE 1-INCH TEST MANIFOLD. PLAINS IS INSPECTING OTHER SIMILAR STATIONS IN THIS AREA FOR SIMILAR SETUPS AND WILL CORRECT THE PIPING AND CONTROL VALVE SETTINGS TO ELIMINATE ANY POTENTIAL VIBRATION."
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.