CHEVRON PETROCHEMICAL PIPELINE LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — November 8, 2011
Incident Information
| Incident Date | November 8, 2011 |
| 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 | 30.35533, -92.70830 |
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 | $517,016 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
LOCAL LAND OWNER CALLED IN TO THE COMPANY CONTROL CENTER AND REPORTED DEAD VEGETATION APPROXIMATELY 4-FEET IN DIAMETER ON COMPANY RIGHT-OF-WAY. OPERATION PERSONNEL WAS IMMEDIATLY DISPATCHED TO REPORTED SITE AND THE PIPELINE WAS IMMEDIATLY SHUT DOWN. THE LEAK WAS SO SMALL THAT AN INSTRUMENTED COMBUSTIBLBE GAS INDICATOR AD TO BE USED TO CONFIRM LEAK. ROOT CAUSE: MATERIAL FAILURE OF ORIGINAL MANUFACTURING-RELATED (ERW LONGITUDINAL SEAM ""COLD WELD"" LACK OF FUSION), NOT A GIRTH WELD OR OTHER WELDS FORMED IN THE FIELD. A ""COLD WELD"" WAS FOUND IN LONGITUDINAL ERW-LF PIPE SEAM, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY DIRT, GREASE, SCALE OR OTHER OXIDE FILMS, OR LOSS OF ELECTRICAL CURRENT, RESULTING IN ISOLATED NON-BONDING OF THE PIPE WELD SEAM. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS CONCLUDED THAT THE COLD WELD, WHERE THE PINHOLE LEAK WAS FOUND, TO BE AN ORIGINAL MANUFACTURING DEFECT. SOLUTION: CUT OUT THE JOINT OF PIPE CONTAINTING THE LEAK AND REPLACED WITH NEW 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.