CRIMSON PIPELINE L.P.

Incident Narrative

ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2013, AN ATMOS LEAK ALARM MOHAWK TO TANK 204 WENT OFF AT 08:31 AND ANOTHER ATMOS LEAK ALARM AT TANK 202 AT 19:06. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE KROHNE METERS AT BOTH TANK 204 AND TANK 202 HAD ACQUIRED WAX AND REQUIRED CLEANING. ALL LEASES GOING TO THE VENTURA TANK FARM WERE SHUT DOWN UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING AFTER THE METERS WERE CLEANED. AT 08:00 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2013, THE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR, TWO PIPELINE OPERATORS, AN AUTOMATION & INTEGRATION SPECIALIST, AND VACUUM TRUCK DRIVER MET AT THE VENTURA TANK FARM TO COMPLETE THE CLEANING OF THE KROHNE METERS. ONLY ONE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER WAS ON SHIFT AT THE TIME. THE FIELD OPERATORS FIRST COMPLETED THE METER AT TANK 204 WITH NO COMPLICATIONS BY 09:45. ONCE THE CLEANING OF THE METER AT TANK 202 HAD BEEN COMPLETED, THE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR CONTACTED THE CONTROL CENTER FOR STARTUP. NO COUNTS WERE OBTAINED BY THE METER AND THE LINE TO TANK 202 WAS SHUT DOWN. THE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER NOTIFIED THE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR THAT THE LINE WAS FLOWING AT A HIGH RATE. THE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR SUGGESTED THAT IT MAY BE DUE TO A VOID IN THE LINE. THE LINE WAS THEN RESTARTED. THE METER CONTINUED TO NOT RECEIVE COUNTS AND THE OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DECIDED TO COVER THE LINE WITH A PIPELINE OPERATOR. THE RELEASE AT TAYLOR LEASE WAS DISCOVERED AT 12:30. DURING SPILL RESPONSE CLEANING, VALVE BV 1016 AT THE TAYLOR LEASE WAS FOUND DAMAGED INTO TWO PIECES. THE VALVE WAS A 125 SERIES LOCATED ON A 150 SERIES LINE AND WAS NOT PART OF THE VALVE MAINTENANCE LIST. PROTECTIVE DEVICE DRAWINGS AND PIPELINE INSTRUMENTATION DRAWINGS DID NOT IDENTIFY THE VALVE AS A 125 SERIES VALVE. THE LINE HAD OVER PRESSURED AND RELIEVED PRESSURE AT VALVE BV 1016. AFTER REVIEW OF THE ALARM LOGS, A HIGH HIGH PRESSURE ALARM OCCURRED AT 08:44 AT THE VENTURA MANIFOLD AND ANOTHER AT 10:04 ON THE TAYLOR LINE. ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, AT 10:56, A LOW LOW PRESSURE ALARM OCCURRED AT BOTH THE VENTURA MANIFOLD AND TAYLOR LINE. THE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER WAS UNABLE TO DISTINGUISH THESE ALARMS AS AN ABNORMAL OPERATING CONDITION AND WAS VIEWING IT AS AN ANOMALY AT THE TIME. DURING CLEANING, VALVE V 1035 AND MOV 12 WERE CLOSED, HOLDING PRODUCT THROUGHOUT THE TAYLOR LEASE LINE. OVER TIME THE CRUDE OIL BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE THERMAL EXPANSION AND THE LINE BEGAN TO OVERPRESSURE DUE TO A RISE IN AMBIENT TEMPERATURES. VALVE BV 1016 WAS A CAST IRON 125 SERIES VALVE AND WAS NOT DESIGNED FOR THE 150 SERIES LINE. VALVE BV 1016 COULD NOT HOLD PRESSURE TO THAT DEGREE AND FAILED. IN ADDITION, PRESSURE ALARMS RECEIVED BY THE CONTROL CENTER WERE NOT PROPERLY RECOGNIZED. THE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER WAS UNABLE TO DISTINGUISH THE PATTERN OF ALARMS AS A LEAK TREND. POOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE CONTROL CENTER CONTROLLER AND FIELD OPERATOR WAS PRESENT.