CHEVRON PETROCHEMICAL PIPELINE LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — July 18, 2013
Incident Information
| Incident Date | July 18, 2013 |
| Operator | CHEVRON PETROCHEMICAL PIPELINE LLC |
| Commodity | HVL OR OTHER FLAMMABLE OR TOXIC FLUID WHICH IS A GAS AT AMBI |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 30.06057, -93.55810 |
Cause
| Cause | MATERIAL FAILURE OF PIPE OR WELD |
| Subcause | ORIGINAL MANUFACTURING-RELATED (NOT GIRTH WELD OR OTHER WELDS FORMED IN THE FIELD) |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $322,200 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
THE ANALYTICAL REPORT CONFIRMS THAT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE LEAK WAS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT OF X52 ERW PIPE. THE SIZE OF THE ANOMALY WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A DEFECT PER AP 5LX STANDARDS IN 1953, OR THE CURRENT API 5LX EDITION. THEREFORE, THERE ARE NO PREVIOUS OR CURRENT NDE METHODS INCLUDING ILI TOOLS THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO DETECT THIS TYPE OF ANOMALY. THE ROOT CAUSE IN THE ANALYTICAL REPORT READS AS FOLLOWS: 1. THE ERW SEAM LEAK WAS CAUSED BY A COLD WELD, A TYPICAL MANUFACTURE DEFECT IN LOW-FREQUENCY ERW SEAMS. THIS CONCLUSION WAS SUPPORTED BY THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERIS INCLUDING THE SMOOTH FRACTURE SURFACES AT THE LEAK, THE THROUGH-WALL OXIDE LAYER, AND NO EVIDENCE OF BONDING. 2. THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF THE COLD WELD WAS INSUFFICIENT HEAT AND/OR FORMING TOOL PRESSURE DURING MANUFACTURE. 3. THE PIPE DIMENSION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES MET THE REQUIREMENT SPECIFIED IN API STANDARD 5LX FOURTH EDITION (1953) FOR GRADE X52 LINE PIPE. THE BASE METAL MICROSTRUCTURE WAS FERRITE PLUS PEARLITE, AS IS TYPICAL OF CARBON MANGANESE STEEL PIPE.
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.