ENTERPRISE CRUDE PIPELINE LLC

Incident Narrative

CUSHING EAST OPERATOR WAS IN THE PROCESS OF DOING A LINE WASH OVER TO THE CUSHING WEST STATION. EAST OPERATOR STARTED UP THE PUMP AND 15 MINUTES LATER DISCOVERED A LARGE LEAK IN THE MANIFOLD. EAST OPERATOR SHUT THE LINE DOWN AND CONTACTED WEST OPERATOR THAT HE HAD A LEAK. CRUDE OIL MIGRATED TO RETENTION POND BUT FULLY CONTAINED ON THE COMPANY'S PROPERTY. EAST OPERATOR (EMPLOYEE #1) CONTACTED THE WEST OPERATOR (EMPLOYEE #2) TO LET HIM KNOW HE WAS GOING TO DO A LINE WASH ON THE GREEN LINE FROM THE EAST STATION TO THE WEST STATION. EMPLOYEE #2 LINED UP HIS STATION TO RECEIVE THE LINE WASH ON THE GREEN LINE. THE EMPLOYEE #1 INCORRECTLY LINED UP HIS STATION TO DELIVER DOWN THE SHELL LINE. EMPLOYEE #1 STARTED UP THE PUMP AND CONTACTED THE WEST OPERATOR TO SEE IF HE HAD STARTED RECEIVING OIL. THE EMPLOYEE #2 ADVISED HIM NO AND AT THAT TIME EMPLOYEE #1 LOOKED AT HIS SECURITY MONITOR AND OBSERVED A LARGE LEAK IN THE MANIFOLD. EMPLOYEE #1 IMMEDIATELY STARTED SHUTTING EVERYTHING DOWN AND CLOSING VALVES. WHEN THE LEAK WAS DUG OUT IT WAS DISCOVERED THE LINE THAT WAS LEAKING WAS THE 8 INCH SHELL LINE AND NOT THE 22 INCH GREEN LINE THAT THE DELIVERY SHOULD HAVE BEEN GOING TO. DURING THE INVESTIGATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE HIGH PRESSURE SHUT DOWN DID NOT SHUT THE PUMP DOWN NOR DID THE STATION INDICATE ANY HIGH PRESSURE ALARMS DURING THE 15 MINUTE TIME SPAN THAT THE PUMP WAS RUNNING. IN LOOKING AT THE DATA AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT THE PRESSURE ON THE LINE SHOWED TO REACH 137 PSI. THE HIGH PRESSURE SHUT DOWN ON THE PUMP IS 271 PSI. THE PUMP PRESSURE SHUTDOWN WAS TESTED AND FOUND TO BE WORKING CORRECTLY. ALSO THE MANIFOLD WAS NOT LABELED DUE TO RECENTLY BEING PAINTED. OPERATIONS WAS IN THE PROCESS OF RE-LABELING THE MANIFOLD. THE GREEN LINE VALVE AND THE SHELL LINE VALVE ARE SIDE BY SIDE, BUT THE GREEN LINE VALVE IS A 10 INCH MOV AND THE SHELL LINE IS A 6 INCH MANUAL OPERATOR VALVE. THERE WAS NOT A PROCEDURE FOR A LINE WASH FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST. AFTER EXCAVATION IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE LINE HAD A SPLIT DOWN THE SEAM OF THE PIPE APPROXIMATELY 49 INCHES IN THE 3 O'CLOCK POSITION. THE PIPE WILL BE CUT OUT AND SENT FOR ANALYSIS. UPDATE 1/18/2012 - UPDATED FINAL COST. LAB REPORT ON PIPE AND INCIDENT REPORT CONCERNING THIS LEAK WAS FORWARDED TO PHMSA ON 6/20/2011. PART G5, PART 2 - OTHER - THE CAUSE OF FAILURE WAS OVERHEATING OF THE EDGES OF THE SKELP DURING THE LAP WELDING PROCESS CAUSING GAIN GROWTH AND INTERGRANULAR CRACKS. THE SERVICE CONDITIONS OF THE PIPE CAUSED THE CRACKS TO CONNECT OVER TIME AND EVENTUALLY REDUCE THE EFFECTIVE WALL THICKNESS OF THE PIPE TO THE POINT WHERE IT WAS UNABLE TO WITHSTAND THE HOOP STRESS.