BP PIPELINE (NORTH AMERICA) INC.
hazardous_liquid Incident — — March 22, 2010
Incident Information
| Incident Date | March 22, 2010 |
| Operator | BP PIPELINE (NORTH AMERICA) INC. |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 29.39972, -94.96417 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | OTHER EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $70,000 |
| Emergency Response | $36,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
A SPRING BROKE INSIDE OF A GRAVITOMETER PUMP AND ALLOWED OIL BACK INTO THE MOTOR. THE BROKEN SPRING ALLOWED THE SHAFT TO SPIN AND WEAR A HOLE IN THE WALL OF THE GRAVITOMETER PUMP. THE HOLE ALLOWED OIL TO LEAK THROUGH THE MOTOR AND OUT ONTO THE GROUND. A FIELD TECHNICIAN WAS DRIVING BY THE 26' EARLY WARNING AND NOTICED OIL ON THE GRASSY AREA AROUND THE DENSITOMETER PUMP AND DENSITY CELL. HE DID NOT SEE WHERE THE LEAK WAS. HE ISOLATED THE GRAVITOMETER PUMP AND DENSITOMETER CELL BY CLOSING THE INLET AND OUTLET VALVES. AFTER ISOLATING THE DENSITY SYSTEM, HE WENT BACK TO THE BPPL TEXAS CITY OFFICE FOR ASSISTANCE. THE VISIBLE OIL WAS INITIALLY DISCOVERED AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 HRS ON 3-22-10. INITIAL ESTIMATES WERE APPROXIMATELY 2-4 GALLONS BASED ON VISUAL OBSERVATION. ON THE AFTERNOON OF 3-23-10 IT WAS DETERMINED, AFTER EXCAVATION, THAT APPROXIMATELY 20 GALLONS OF CRUDE OIL HAD BEEN RELEASED FROM THE LEAKING GRAVIMETER. THE RELEASE PRODUCT WAS ALL CONTAINED ON COMPANY PROPERTY.
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.