ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC

Incident Narrative

DESCRIPTION OF ACCIDENT ON 11/5/2012 TWO WELDERS WERE WELDING A B-SLEEVE AT DIG #20 ON THE 10"" CLINTON LATERAL LOOP (LID 621) AS A PART OF A REHABILITATION PROJECT. WHEN WELDER # 1 CAME UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PIPE TO THE 9 O'CLOCK POSITION HE ACQUIRED A NEW ROD; AS SOON AS HE ARCED UP ON THE CARRIER PIPE IT STARTED HISSING AND BLEW OUT RESULTING IN A PRODUCT RELEASE. WELDER # 1 QUICKLY TOLD WELDER # 2 THEY HAD A PROBLEM AND TO STOP WELDING. THE WELDING INSPECTOR REMOVED ALL PERSONNEL FROM THE EXCAVATION SITE AND CALLED PIPELINE CONTROL TO SHUT DOWN THE PIPELINE. THE LEAK WAS THEN ISOLATED BETWEEN AM 32 AND AM 35 AND THE REMAINING PRODUCTS WERE FLARED. ONCE THE AREA WAS MADE SAFE, THE LINE WAS EXPOSED TO EXTEND THE LENGTH OF EXCAVATION TO CUT-OUT AND REPLACE THE PIPE. THE LINE WAS PURGED AND RESTARTED ON 11/8/2012. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS THE CUT-OUT SECTION WAS SENT TO A LAB FOR EXAMINATION. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF THE PIPE CUT-OUT VIA MACRO-SECTIONING DETERMINED THERE ARE NO LAMINATIONS, SEGREGATIONS, AND / OR ANOMALIES WITHIN THE BODY OF THE PIPE. PRE & POST INCIDENT NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION VERIFIED WALL THICKNESS MEASUREMENTS OF THE PIPE WERE WITHIN THE APPROVED PARAMETERS. PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS USING A MICROMETER OF THE PIPE WERE CONDUCTED AFTER SECTIONING ALSO CONFIRMED THE WALL THICKNESS WAS ACCEPTABLE. BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH THE WELDING INSPECTOR AND WELDERS AS WELL AS REVIEWING THE DATA SUBMITTED BY THE WELDING INSPECTOR, THE WELDERS WERE NOT BEING FULLY MONITORED DURING THE WELDING OPERATION. IT HAS ALSO BEEN DETERMINED THAT THE WELDERS WERE WELDING OUTSIDE OF THE SPECIFIED PARAMETER RANGES. SEVERAL MACRO-SECTIONS WERE TAKEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED FROM AREAS BOTH OUTSIDE AND OF CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE BURN-THROUGH LOCATION. THE PHOTOGRAPHS INDICATE THAT PREVIOUS PASSES FROM THE RESPONSIBLE WELDER WERE WELDED WITHIN ACCEPTABLE WELDING PARAMETERS. AS THE MACRO-SECTIONS MOVED CLOSER TO THE BURN-THROUGH LOCATION IT CAN BE NOTED THAT THE OVERALL ENERGY INPUTTED INTO THE PIPE REGION INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY COMPARED TO PREVIOUS PASSES. A FINAL REPORT IS PENDING FROM THE LAB ANALYSIS. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS FINDINGS THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS CONCLUDED ""THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THIS BURN-THROUGH IS THE POOR WELDING PRACTICE OF THE SUBJECT WELDER. HE USED EXCESSIVE HEAT INPUT IN HIS WELDING OPERATIONS. HE CONSISTENTLY DEPOSITED LARGE BEADS AND PENETRATED DEEP INTO THE PIPE. THIS WAS PARTICULARLY EVIDENT IN THE LAST ROD HE DEPOSITED."" IN REFERENCE TO G7 - INCORRECT OPERATION, THE INVESTIGATION IDENTIFIED THAT ALTHOUGH THE WELDERS WERE QUALIFIED PER ENTERPRISE'S OQ PROGRAM, THE WELDING INSPECTOR'S OQ QUALIFICATIONS RELATED TO THIS TASK EXPIRED AUGUST 10, 2012. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT THE WELDING INSPECTOR WAS CERTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH CPWI AND NCCER.