ONEOK NGL PIPELINE, LLC

Incident Narrative

ONEOK EMPLOYEES WERE DOING CONTROL CHECK OUT OF NEW PUMPING SYSTEM. PROPANE WAS INITIATED INTO PIPING SYSTEM, WHEN VALVE ON PUMP 110 STARTED TO OPEN PROPANE VAPORS BEGAN RELEASING FROM DRAIN PLUG HOLE ON VALVE BODY. VALVE WAS ISOLATED, PRODUCT WAS BLOWN DOWN AND DRAIN PLUG INSTALLED. PLUG HAD BEEN REMOVED AFTER HYDROTEST OF PIPING SYSTEM TO INSURE ALL WATER WAS DRAINED AND INSPECTOR FAILED TO REPLACE. PLUG LOCATION WAS APPROXIMATELY 7 FT. ABOVE GROUND LEVEL AND WAS MISSED DURING WALKDOWN PRIOR TO INITIATING PRODUCT INTO THE SYSTEM. ALL OTHER VALVES WERE CHECKED AND NO OTHER PLUGS WERE FOUND TO BE MISSING. NO EMPLOYEES WERE DRUG TESTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE RELEASE AS THE CONTRACT EMPLOYEES THAT CONDUCTED THE HYDROTEST AND THE DEWATERING OF THE PIPING HAD LEFT THE PROPERTY DAYS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE COMMISSIONING PROJECT. A PRE-JOB WALK TROUGH OF THE COMMISSIONING PROJECT HAD BEEN CONDUCTED BUT THE OPEN BLOW DOWN VALVE AND MISSING PLUG WAS NOT SEEN AS IT WAS ON THE TOP OF THE HEADER SYSTEM AND WAS APPROXIMATELY 8 FT. ABOVE GRADE. THE COMMISSIONING PROJECT WAS TO PURGE AIR FROM THE PUMP HEADERS AND FILL THE LINE WITH LIQUID PRODUCT TO MAKE THEM READY FOR PUMPING. WHEN THE RELEASE WAS DISCOVERED THE HEADER WAS NOT IN SERVICE SO NO PIPELINES WERE SHUTDOW WHEN THE RELEASE WAS DISCOVERED THE VALVE ALLOWING LIQUID PRODUCT INTO THE HEADER WAS IMMEDIATELY CLOSED TO ALLOW THE HVL VAPORS TO DISAPATE AND MAKE THE AREA SAFE FOR ENTRY. ONCE THE AREA WAS SAFE TO ENTER ONEOK EMPLOYEES SHUT THE BLOW DOWN VALVE AND INSTALLED THE PLUG THEN RESTARTED THE COMMISSIONING PROJECT.