GTG incident on 2011-12-04 — OK

Operator
Questar Pipeline Company
Cause
Equipment Failure
Commodity
Natural Gas
Program
GTG
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities 0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$134,000
Incident datetime
2011-12-04 08:40
Report number
Location
OK
Narrative
This supplemental report is being filed to document the operator's estimated cost of property loss and repair and to submit the final version of this report and complete part e5f. The leroy storage field was on stand-by for withdrawal. Several dehy units, including the unit on well 11 were idling. The well was open, the glycol reboiler was operating at 375 degrees, and one of the two glycol pumps was circulating glycol through the unit. Storage field operating pressure was 1485 psig. Sometime prior to the fire, a 1/4 inch diameter tubing line on the bottom of a glycol pump broke releasing a glycol and gas mixture inside the dehy unit building. At some point, the glycol and gas were ignited and the resulting fire damaged the dehy unit. The uinta county (wyoming) fire department monitored the fire, questar pipeline company operating personnel arrived on scene at 09:10 am. At 09:30 am the fire department personnel assisted company operators in closing the wellhead wing valve, master valve, and two valves near the dehy, the injection block valve and withdrawal block valve. The valve on the plant end of the leroy #11 storage lateral was already closed (no volume set point). Closing these valves isolated pressure in the dehy unit and production line. The broken tubing line inside the dehy unit continued to vent gas, and the fire continued to burn. A 1/2 inch vent valve on the production line, near the wellhead esd valve was used to vent pressure to atmosphere, and help lower the pressure on the dehy piping. The control valve on the well #11 lateral at the leroy plant was locked out and tagged out, and the lateral was depressured to 140 psig using a blowdown vent in the plant. At approximately 10:00 am, as the pressure on the isolated dehy unit neared zero, the fire subsided and the fire department sprayed water and foam on and in the dehy unit, to extinguish the fire and cool the piping and vessels. The valves were confirmed closed, the unit totally depressured and mostly cooled, the fire department demobilized at 11:15 am. The dehy facility was repaired and placed into service on may 31, 2012.
Detailed record list
Report Received Date
2012-01-03 00:00:00
Iyear
2011
Report Number
20120003
Supplemental Number
16068
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
Name
Questar Pipeline Company
Operator Street Address
One Williams Center
Operator City Name
Tulsa
Operator State Abbreviation
OK
Operator Postal Code
74172
Local Datetime
2011-12-04 08:40:00
Location Latitude
Location Longitude
Nrc Rpt Num
Nrc Rpt Datetime
2011-12-04 10:00:00
Commodity Released Type
Natural Gas
Unintentional Release
2000
Intentional Release
0
Accompanying Liquid
0
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Shutdown Due Accident Ind
Yes
Shutdown Datetime
2011-12-04 09:10:00
Restart Datetime
2012-05-31 08:00:00
Ignite Ind
Yes
Explode Ind
No
Num Pub Evacuated
0
Incident Identified Datetime
2011-12-04 08:40:00
On Site Datetime
2011-12-04 09:10:00
On Off Shore
Onshore
Onshore State Abbreviation
Wy
Onshore Postal Code
82930
Onshore City Name
Near Evanston, Wy
Onshore County Name
Uinta
Pipe Fac Name
Leroy Storage Field
Segment Name
Leroy Storage Well No. 11
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
Belowground Storage, Including Associated Equipment And Piping
Item Involved
Dehydrator/drier/treater/scrubber
Installation Year
2010
Material Involved
Carbon Steel
Release Type
Other
Release Type Details
Tubing To A Glycol Pump Broke At Threaded Connection To The Pump. As A Result, Glycol And Natural Gas Leaked From The Tubing And Ignited.
Class Location Type
Class 1 Location
Could Be Hca
No
Pir Radius
8
Heat Damage Ind
Yes
Non Heat Damage Ind
No
Hca Fatalities Ind
No
Est Cost Oper Paid
0
Est Cost Unintentional Release
6240
Est Cost Intentional Release
0
Est Cost Prop Damage
134000
Est Cost Emergency
2000
Est Cost Other
0
Prpty
142240
Accident Psig
1485
Mop Psig
1800
Mop Cfr Section
Not On Omb-Approved Form When Submitted
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop
Pressure Restriction Ind
No
Pipeline Function
Transmission In Storage Field
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 Emergency Responder
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
No alarm existed to provide indication to the controller that a tubing break had occurred.
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Equipment Failure
Cause Details
Other Equipment Failure
Eq Failure Type
Other Equipment Failure
Eq Failure Details
1/4" Tubing Line Broke At Glycol Pump Releasing Glycol And Natural Gas In A Dehydrator Building And A Fire Resulted.
Eq Additional Other Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Details
1/4" Tubing Line Broke
Preparer Name
C*** W******
Preparer Title
Supervisor Of Pipeline Compliance
Preparer Email
C***********@q******.com
Preparer Telephone
801-324-3814
Authorizer Name
L**** C****
Authorizer Title
Vice President Of Engineering And Operations
Authorizer Telephone
801-324-5061
Authorizer Email
L**********@q******.com
Narrative
This supplemental report is being filed to document the operator's estimated cost of property loss and repair and to submit the final version of this report and complete part e5f. The leroy storage field was on stand-by for withdrawal. Several dehy units, including the unit on well 11 were idling. The well was open, the glycol reboiler was operating at 375 degrees, and one of the two glycol pumps was circulating glycol through the unit. Storage field operating pressure was 1485 psig. Sometime prior to the fire, a 1/4 inch diameter tubing line on the bottom of a glycol pump broke releasing a glycol and gas mixture inside the dehy unit building. At some point, the glycol and gas were ignited and the resulting fire damaged the dehy unit. The uinta county (wyoming) fire department monitored the fire, questar pipeline company operating personnel arrived on scene at 09:10 am. At 09:30 am the fire department personnel assisted company operators in closing the wellhead wing valve, master valve, and two valves near the dehy, the injection block valve and withdrawal block valve. The valve on the plant end of the leroy #11 storage lateral was already closed (no volume set point). Closing these valves isolated pressure in the dehy unit and production line. The broken tubing line inside the dehy unit continued to vent gas, and the fire continued to burn. A 1/2 inch vent valve on the production line, near the wellhead esd valve was used to vent pressure to atmosphere, and help lower the pressure on the dehy piping. The control valve on the well #11 lateral at the leroy plant was locked out and tagged out, and the lateral was depressured to 140 psig using a blowdown vent in the plant. At approximately 10:00 am, as the pressure on the isolated dehy unit neared zero, the fire subsided and the fire department sprayed water and foam on and in the dehy unit, to extinguish the fire and cool the piping and vessels. The valves were confirmed closed, the unit totally depressured and mostly cooled, the fire department demobilized at 11:15 am. The dehy facility was repaired and placed into service on may 31, 2012.
Report Received Date 2012-01-03 00:00:00
Iyear 2011
Report Number 20120003
Supplemental Number 16068
Report Type Supplemental Final
Operator Id 12874 PHMSA Enforcement
Name Questar Pipeline Company
Operator Street Address One Williams Center
Operator City Name Tulsa
Operator State Abbreviation OK
Operator Postal Code 74172
Local Datetime 2011-12-04 08:40:00
Location Latitude 41.32826 Google Maps OpenStreetMap
Location Longitude -110.61372 Google Maps OpenStreetMap
Nrc Rpt Num 997138 NRC Report How to search
Nrc Rpt Datetime 2011-12-04 10:00:00
Commodity Released Type Natural Gas
Unintentional Release 2000
Intentional Release 0
Accompanying Liquid 0
Fatality Ind No
Fatal 0
Injury Ind No
Injure 0
Shutdown Due Accident Ind Yes
Shutdown Datetime 2011-12-04 09:10:00
Restart Datetime 2012-05-31 08:00:00
Ignite Ind Yes
Explode Ind No
Num Pub Evacuated 0
Incident Identified Datetime 2011-12-04 08:40:00
On Site Datetime 2011-12-04 09:10:00
On Off Shore Onshore
Onshore State Abbreviation Wy
Onshore Postal Code 82930
Onshore City Name Near Evanston, Wy
Onshore County Name Uinta
Pipe Fac Name Leroy Storage Field
Segment Name Leroy Storage Well No. 11
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 Belowground Storage, Including Associated Equipment And Piping
Item Involved Dehydrator/drier/treater/scrubber
Installation Year 2010
Material Involved Carbon Steel
Release Type Other
Release Type Details Tubing To A Glycol Pump Broke At Threaded Connection To The Pump. As A Result, Glycol And Natural Gas Leaked From The Tubing And Ignited.
Class Location Type Class 1 Location
Could Be Hca No
Pir Radius 8
Heat Damage Ind Yes
Non Heat Damage Ind No
Hca Fatalities Ind No
Est Cost Oper Paid 0
Est Cost Unintentional Release 6240
Est Cost Intentional Release 0
Est Cost Prop Damage 134000
Est Cost Emergency 2000
Est Cost Other 0
Prpty 142240
Accident Psig 1485
Mop Psig 1800
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 In Storage Field
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 Emergency Responder
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 No alarm existed to provide indication to the controller that a tubing break had occurred.
Employee Drug Test Ind No
Contractor Drug Test Ind No
Cause Equipment Failure
Cause Details Other Equipment Failure
Eq Failure Type Other Equipment Failure
Eq Failure Details 1/4" Tubing Line Broke At Glycol Pump Releasing Glycol And Natural Gas In A Dehydrator Building And A Fire Resulted.
Eq Additional Other Ind Yes
Eq Additional Other Details 1/4" Tubing Line Broke
Preparer Name C*** W******
Preparer Title Supervisor Of Pipeline Compliance
Preparer Email C***********@q******.com
Preparer Telephone 801-324-3814
Authorizer Name L**** C****
Authorizer Title Vice President Of Engineering And Operations
Authorizer Telephone 801-324-5061
Authorizer Email L**********@q******.com
Narrative This supplemental report is being filed to document the operator's estimated cost of property loss and repair and to submit the final version of this report and complete part e5f. The leroy storage field was on stand-by for withdrawal. Several dehy units, including the unit on well 11 were idling. The well was open, the glycol reboiler was operating at 375 degrees, and one of the two glycol pumps was circulating glycol through the unit. Storage field operating pressure was 1485 psig. Sometime prior to the fire, a 1/4 inch diameter tubing line on the bottom of a glycol pump broke releasing a glycol and gas mixture inside the dehy unit building. At some point, the glycol and gas were ignited and the resulting fire damaged the dehy unit. The uinta county (wyoming) fire department monitored the fire, questar pipeline company operating personnel arrived on scene at 09:10 am. At 09:30 am the fire department personnel assisted company operators in closing the wellhead wing valve, master valve, and two valves near the dehy, the injection block valve and withdrawal block valve. The valve on the plant end of the leroy #11 storage lateral was already closed (no volume set point). Closing these valves isolated pressure in the dehy unit and production line. The broken tubing line inside the dehy unit continued to vent gas, and the fire continued to burn. A 1/2 inch vent valve on the production line, near the wellhead esd valve was used to vent pressure to atmosphere, and help lower the pressure on the dehy piping. The control valve on the well #11 lateral at the leroy plant was locked out and tagged out, and the lateral was depressured to 140 psig using a blowdown vent in the plant. At approximately 10:00 am, as the pressure on the isolated dehy unit neared zero, the fire subsided and the fire department sprayed water and foam on and in the dehy unit, to extinguish the fire and cool the piping and vessels. The valves were confirmed closed, the unit totally depressured and mostly cooled, the fire department demobilized at 11:15 am. The dehy facility was repaired and placed into service on may 31, 2012.

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