GTG incident on 2011-05-13 — TX

Operator
Columbia Gas Transmission Corp
Cause
Equipment Failure
Commodity
Natural Gas
Program
GTG
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities 0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$120,000
Incident datetime
2011-05-13 19:02
Report number
Location
TX
Narrative
At 16:04 on friday, may 13, 2011, a possible fire was reported by columbia's monitoring center. The event was at the company's station camp compressor station, a small unmanned station in rural central kentucky. The station consists of four ajax 230 horsepower units. The local fire department was on site and had closed a road adjacent to the station. Company employees had arrived at the site at approximately 16:00 and confirmed that unit #3 was on fire. By 16:35 the station was shut in and the fire was extinguished. After a thorough examination, it was determined that only unit #3 had been damaged. It was declared to be unavailable for service, pending further assessment and repair. The other units were later returned to service without incident. The units at this station are owned by exterran and leased to columbia. A representative of exterran arrived at the site at approximately 18:45 and provided an initial damage estimate of $125,000 to $250,000. This estimate was received at approximately 19:02. Upon receipt of this estimate, it was determined that an incident had occurred. The nrc and PHMSA southern region offices were notified at 19:44 and 20:08 respectively. Over the course of the next three days the circumstances of the event were established. It was decided that the compressor crosshead slide had failed and siezed on unit #3. The resultant heat and damage ignited crankcase oil vapors (via the oil breather) and a nearby lube oil day storage tank. The heat from the oil fire had, in turn, damaged a valve in the starting gas system, causing gas leakage and a subsequent small secondary fire. This secondary fire caused no apparent additional damage. Repairs were made to the unit and it was returned to service on may 27. Final repair costs totalled approximately $120,000.
Detailed record list
Report Received Date
2011-06-09 00:00:00
Iyear
2011
Report Number
20110175
Supplemental Number
16349
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
Name
Columbia Gas Transmission Corp
Operator Street Address
700 Louisiana St. Suite 700
Operator City Name
Houston
Operator State Abbreviation
TX
Operator Postal Code
77002
Local Datetime
2011-05-13 19:02:00
Location Latitude
Location Longitude
Nrc Rpt Num
Nrc Rpt Datetime
2011-05-13 19:44:00
Commodity Released Type
Natural Gas
Unintentional Release
53
Intentional Release
2
Accompanying Liquid
0
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Shutdown Due Accident Ind
Yes
Shutdown Datetime
2011-05-13 19:02:00
Restart Datetime
2011-05-27 14:24:00
Ignite Ind
Yes
Explode Ind
No
Num Pub Evacuated
0
Incident Identified Datetime
2011-05-13 19:02:00
On Site Datetime
2011-05-13 19:02:00
On Off Shore
Onshore
Onshore State Abbreviation
Ky
Onshore Postal Code
40336
Onshore City Name
8 Miles Sse Of Irvine, Ky
Onshore County Name
Estill
Pipe Fac Name
Station Camp C/s
Federal
No
Location Type
Operator-Controlled Property
Incident Area Type
Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype
Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Interstate
System Part Involved
Onshore Compressor Station Equipment And Piping
Item Involved
Valve
Valve Type
Auxiliary Or Other Valve
Installation Year
1984
Material Involved
Carbon Steel
Release Type
Leak
Leak Type
Seal Or Packing
Class Location Type
Class 1 Location
Could Be Hca
No
Pir Radius
26
Heat Damage Ind
No
Non Heat Damage Ind
No
Hca Fatalities Ind
No
Est Cost Oper Paid
0
Est Cost Unintentional Release
239
Est Cost Intentional Release
9
Est Cost Prop Damage
120000
Est Cost Emergency
1000
Est Cost Other
0
Prpty
121248
Accident Psig
230
Mop Psig
1000
Mop Cfr Section
Not On Omb-Approved Form When Submitted
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop
Pressure Restriction Ind
No
Pipeline Function
Transmission System
Scada In Place Ind
Yes
Scada Operating Ind
Yes
Scada Functional Ind
Yes
Scada Detection Ind
No
Scada Conf Ind
No
Accident Identifier
Notification From Public
Investigation Status
No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate)
Investigation Status Details
Unexpected facility failure triggered the event. There was no controller involvement at the time of the failure, and the facility had been operating well within normal operational parameters.
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Equipment Failure
Cause Details
Compressor Or Compressor-Related Equipment
Eq Failure Type
Compressor Or Compressor-Related Equipment
Other Compressor Ind
Seal Failure
Eq Additional Other Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Details
Crosshead Slide Failure And Seizure
Preparer Name
D**** A****
Preparer Title
System Integrity Engineer
Preparer Email
D*****@n*******.com
Preparer Telephone
304-357-2378
Preparer Fax
304-357-3804
Authorizer Name
P* M****** H******
Authorizer Title
Manager System Integrity
Authorizer Telephone
304-357-2548
Authorizer Email
M**********@n*******.com
Narrative
At 16:04 on friday, may 13, 2011, a possible fire was reported by columbia's monitoring center. The event was at the company's station camp compressor station, a small unmanned station in rural central kentucky. The station consists of four ajax 230 horsepower units. The local fire department was on site and had closed a road adjacent to the station. Company employees had arrived at the site at approximately 16:00 and confirmed that unit #3 was on fire. By 16:35 the station was shut in and the fire was extinguished. After a thorough examination, it was determined that only unit #3 had been damaged. It was declared to be unavailable for service, pending further assessment and repair. The other units were later returned to service without incident. The units at this station are owned by exterran and leased to columbia. A representative of exterran arrived at the site at approximately 18:45 and provided an initial damage estimate of $125,000 to $250,000. This estimate was received at approximately 19:02. Upon receipt of this estimate, it was determined that an incident had occurred. The nrc and PHMSA southern region offices were notified at 19:44 and 20:08 respectively. Over the course of the next three days the circumstances of the event were established. It was decided that the compressor crosshead slide had failed and siezed on unit #3. The resultant heat and damage ignited crankcase oil vapors (via the oil breather) and a nearby lube oil day storage tank. The heat from the oil fire had, in turn, damaged a valve in the starting gas system, causing gas leakage and a subsequent small secondary fire. This secondary fire caused no apparent additional damage. Repairs were made to the unit and it was returned to service on may 27. Final repair costs totalled approximately $120,000.
Report Received Date 2011-06-09 00:00:00
Iyear 2011
Report Number 20110175
Supplemental Number 16349
Report Type Supplemental Final
Operator Id 2616 PHMSA Enforcement
Name Columbia Gas Transmission Corp
Operator Street Address 700 Louisiana St. Suite 700
Operator City Name Houston
Operator State Abbreviation TX
Operator Postal Code 77002
Local Datetime 2011-05-13 19:02:00
Location Latitude 37.604557 Google Maps OpenStreetMap
Location Longitude -83.924625 Google Maps OpenStreetMap
Nrc Rpt Num 976244 NRC Report How to search
Nrc Rpt Datetime 2011-05-13 19:44:00
Commodity Released Type Natural Gas
Unintentional Release 53
Intentional Release 2
Accompanying Liquid 0
Fatality Ind No
Fatal 0
Injury Ind No
Injure 0
Shutdown Due Accident Ind Yes
Shutdown Datetime 2011-05-13 19:02:00
Restart Datetime 2011-05-27 14:24:00
Ignite Ind Yes
Explode Ind No
Num Pub Evacuated 0
Incident Identified Datetime 2011-05-13 19:02:00
On Site Datetime 2011-05-13 19:02:00
On Off Shore Onshore
Onshore State Abbreviation Ky
Onshore Postal Code 40336
Onshore City Name 8 Miles Sse Of Irvine, Ky
Onshore County Name Estill
Pipe Fac Name Station Camp C/s
Federal No
Location Type Operator-Controlled Property
Incident Area Type Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance
Crossing No
Pipe Facility Type Interstate
System Part Involved Onshore Compressor Station Equipment And Piping
Item Involved Valve
Valve Type Auxiliary Or Other Valve
Installation Year 1984
Material Involved Carbon Steel
Release Type Leak
Leak Type Seal Or Packing
Class Location Type Class 1 Location
Could Be Hca No
Pir Radius 26
Heat Damage Ind No
Non Heat Damage Ind No
Hca Fatalities Ind No
Est Cost Oper Paid 0
Est Cost Unintentional Release 239
Est Cost Intentional Release 9
Est Cost Prop Damage 120000
Est Cost Emergency 1000
Est Cost Other 0
Prpty 121248
Accident Psig 230
Mop Psig 1000
Mop Cfr Section Not On Omb-Approved Form When Submitted View CFR 49 §192
Accident Pressure Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop
Pressure Restriction Ind No
Pipeline Function Transmission System
Scada In Place Ind Yes
Scada Operating Ind Yes
Scada Functional Ind Yes
Scada Detection Ind No
Scada Conf Ind No
Accident Identifier Notification From Public
Investigation Status No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate)
Investigation Status Details Unexpected facility failure triggered the event. There was no controller involvement at the time of the failure, and the facility had been operating well within normal operational parameters.
Employee Drug Test Ind No
Contractor Drug Test Ind No
Cause Equipment Failure
Cause Details Compressor Or Compressor-Related Equipment
Eq Failure Type Compressor Or Compressor-Related Equipment
Other Compressor Ind Seal Failure
Eq Additional Other Ind Yes
Eq Additional Other Details Crosshead Slide Failure And Seizure
Preparer Name D**** A****
Preparer Title System Integrity Engineer
Preparer Email D*****@n*******.com
Preparer Telephone 304-357-2378
Preparer Fax 304-357-3804
Authorizer Name P* M****** H******
Authorizer Title Manager System Integrity
Authorizer Telephone 304-357-2548
Authorizer Email M**********@n*******.com
Narrative At 16:04 on friday, may 13, 2011, a possible fire was reported by columbia's monitoring center. The event was at the company's station camp compressor station, a small unmanned station in rural central kentucky. The station consists of four ajax 230 horsepower units. The local fire department was on site and had closed a road adjacent to the station. Company employees had arrived at the site at approximately 16:00 and confirmed that unit #3 was on fire. By 16:35 the station was shut in and the fire was extinguished. After a thorough examination, it was determined that only unit #3 had been damaged. It was declared to be unavailable for service, pending further assessment and repair. The other units were later returned to service without incident. The units at this station are owned by exterran and leased to columbia. A representative of exterran arrived at the site at approximately 18:45 and provided an initial damage estimate of $125,000 to $250,000. This estimate was received at approximately 19:02. Upon receipt of this estimate, it was determined that an incident had occurred. The nrc and PHMSA southern region offices were notified at 19:44 and 20:08 respectively. Over the course of the next three days the circumstances of the event were established. It was decided that the compressor crosshead slide had failed and siezed on unit #3. The resultant heat and damage ignited crankcase oil vapors (via the oil breather) and a nearby lube oil day storage tank. The heat from the oil fire had, in turn, damaged a valve in the starting gas system, causing gas leakage and a subsequent small secondary fire. This secondary fire caused no apparent additional damage. Repairs were made to the unit and it was returned to service on may 27. Final repair costs totalled approximately $120,000.

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