Incident details
Operator, cause, commodity and consequences with raw source fields.
HL incident on 2019-08-18 — TX
Operator
Epic Consolidated Operations, Llc
Cause
Equipment Failure
Commodity
Crude Oil
Program
HL
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities
0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$0
Incident datetime
2019-08-18 07:30
Report number
Location
TX
Narrative
On 8/18/2019, the customer delivery point downstream of the robstown to ingleside 20" valve/meter site located inside the robstown terminal unexpectedly shut in with no notice given to epic operations prior to the shut in. When the delivery point shut in it caused a back-pressure on the pipeline system that pressured the pipeline system above 1000 psig (but did not exceed the mop of 1440) and a thermal relief on the system set at 1000 psig actuated and vented into a sump at the site, and the sump reached capacity and overflowed into a construction ditch surrounding the sump. The thermal relief failed to close after the pressure fell below the 1000 psig set-point. The accident took place in the early morning hours on a sunday and no operations personnel were on site at the time. One of the project managers was performing a station check on his unrelated project, and found the sump overflowing and notified operations and the thermal relief was shut-in to stop the flow into the sump. No further investigation can be performed as the customer delivery point shut-in occurred on another operator's facility. To mitigate similar re-occurrences the thermal relief was locked out as it is not a required component and will be replaced with a thermal relief set closer to the 1440 psig mop or deleted from the configuration. In addition the sump was piped to return to the suction side of the mainline pumps to prevent an overflow event from re-occurring. And all other similar configurations will be evaluated.
Detailed record list
Report Received Date
2019-09-16 00:00:00
Iyear
2019
Report Number
20190288
Supplemental Number
32783
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
39785
Name
Epic Consolidated Operations, Llc
Operator Street Address
18615 Tuscany Stone, Suite 300
Operator City Name
San Antonio
Operator State Abbreviation
TX
Operator Postal Code
78258
Local Datetime
2019-08-18 02:00:00
Location Latitude
27.8294937
Location Longitude
-97.6138882
Commodity Released Type
Crude Oil
Unintentional Release Bbls
242
Recovered Bbls
205
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Accident Identifier
Local Operating Personnel, Including Contractors
Operator Type
Operator Employee
Incident Identified Datetime
2019-08-18 07:30:00
System Part Involved
Onshore Pump/meter Station Equipment And Piping
On Off Shore
Onshore
Shutdown Due Accident Ind
No
Shutdown Explain
The Pipeline Was Already Shut In Prior To The Accident.
On Site Datetime
2019-08-18 08:00:00
Nrc Rpt Num
Nrc Notification Not Required
Ignite Ind
No
Explode Ind
No
Num Pub Evacuated
0
Pipe Fac Name
Robstown To Ingleside 20"
Onshore State Abbreviation
Tx
Onshore Postal Code
78380
Onshore City Name
Not Within A Municipality
Onshore County Name
Nueces
Designated Location
Milepost/valve Station
Designated Name
Terminal
Federal
No
Location Type
Totally Contained On Operator-Controlled Property
Incident Area Type
Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype
In Or Spanning An Open Ditch
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Intrastate
Item Involved
Sump
Installation Year
2019
Material Involved
Carbon Steel
Release Type
Overfill Or Overflow
Wildlife Impact Ind
No
Soil Contamination
Yes
Long Term Assessment
No
Remediation Ind
Yes
Soil Remed Ind
Yes
Water Contam Ind
No
Could Be Hca
Yes
Commodity Reached Hca
No
Est Cost Oper Paid
0
Est Cost Gas Released
1850
Est Cost Prop Damage
0
Est Cost Emergency
0
Est Cost Environmental
18500
Est Cost Other
0
Prpty
20350
Accident Psig
1000
Mop Psig
1440
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Mop
Pressure Restriction Ind
No
Pipeline Function
> 20% Smys Regulated Transmission
Scada In Place Ind
Yes
Scada Operating Ind
Yes
Scada Functional Ind
No
Scada Detection Ind
No
Scada Conf Ind
No
Cpm In Place Ind
No
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
The control rooms actions did not contribute to the release.
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Equipment Failure
Cause Details
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Eq Failure Type
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Relief Valve Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Details
The Thermal Relief Did Not Re-Seat After The Pressure Fell Below The Set Point
Preparer Name
C**** W*******
Preparer Title
Sr. Dot Phmsa Professional
Preparer Email
C*************@f*************.net
Preparer Telephone
2109202295
Prepared Date
2019-10-07 00:00:00
Authorizer Name
D***** V** D****
Authorizer Telephone
2109208855
Authorizer Title
Director Of Operations
Authorizer Email
D**************@e******.com
Narrative
On 8/18/2019, the customer delivery point downstream of the robstown to ingleside 20" valve/meter site located inside the robstown terminal unexpectedly shut in with no notice given to epic operations prior to the shut in. When the delivery point shut in it caused a back-pressure on the pipeline system that pressured the pipeline system above 1000 psig (but did not exceed the mop of 1440) and a thermal relief on the system set at 1000 psig actuated and vented into a sump at the site, and the sump reached capacity and overflowed into a construction ditch surrounding the sump. The thermal relief failed to close after the pressure fell below the 1000 psig set-point. The accident took place in the early morning hours on a sunday and no operations personnel were on site at the time. One of the project managers was performing a station check on his unrelated project, and found the sump overflowing and notified operations and the thermal relief was shut-in to stop the flow into the sump. No further investigation can be performed as the customer delivery point shut-in occurred on another operator's facility. To mitigate similar re-occurrences the thermal relief was locked out as it is not a required component and will be replaced with a thermal relief set closer to the 1440 psig mop or deleted from the configuration. In addition the sump was piped to return to the suction side of the mainline pumps to prevent an overflow event from re-occurring. And all other similar configurations will be evaluated.
| Report Received Date | 2019-09-16 00:00:00 |
|---|---|
| Iyear | 2019 |
| Report Number | 20190288 |
| Supplemental Number | 32783 |
| Report Type | Supplemental Final |
| Operator Id | 39785 PHMSA Enforcement |
| Name | Epic Consolidated Operations, Llc |
| Operator Street Address | 18615 Tuscany Stone, Suite 300 |
| Operator City Name | San Antonio |
| Operator State Abbreviation | TX |
| Operator Postal Code | 78258 |
| Local Datetime | 2019-08-18 02:00:00 |
| Location Latitude | 27.8294937 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Location Longitude | -97.6138882 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Commodity Released Type | Crude Oil |
| Unintentional Release Bbls | 242 |
| Recovered Bbls | 205 |
| Fatality Ind | No |
| Fatal | 0 |
| Injury Ind | No |
| Injure | 0 |
| Accident Identifier | Local Operating Personnel, Including Contractors |
| Operator Type | Operator Employee |
| Incident Identified Datetime | 2019-08-18 07:30:00 |
| System Part Involved | Onshore Pump/meter Station Equipment And Piping |
| On Off Shore | Onshore |
| Shutdown Due Accident Ind | No |
| Shutdown Explain | The Pipeline Was Already Shut In Prior To The Accident. |
| On Site Datetime | 2019-08-18 08:00:00 |
| Nrc Rpt Num | Nrc Notification Not Required NRC Report How to search |
| Ignite Ind | No |
| Explode Ind | No |
| Num Pub Evacuated | 0 |
| Pipe Fac Name | Robstown To Ingleside 20" |
| Onshore State Abbreviation | Tx |
| Onshore Postal Code | 78380 |
| Onshore City Name | Not Within A Municipality |
| Onshore County Name | Nueces |
| Designated Location | Milepost/valve Station |
| Designated Name | Terminal |
| Federal | No |
| Location Type | Totally Contained On Operator-Controlled Property |
| Incident Area Type | Aboveground |
| Incident Area Subtype | In Or Spanning An Open Ditch |
| Crossing | No |
| Pipe Facility Type | Intrastate |
| Item Involved | Sump |
| Installation Year | 2019 |
| Material Involved | Carbon Steel |
| Release Type | Overfill Or Overflow |
| Wildlife Impact Ind | No |
| Soil Contamination | Yes |
| Long Term Assessment | No |
| Remediation Ind | Yes |
| Soil Remed Ind | Yes |
| Water Contam Ind | No |
| Could Be Hca | Yes |
| Commodity Reached Hca | No |
| Est Cost Oper Paid | 0 |
| Est Cost Gas Released | 1850 |
| Est Cost Prop Damage | 0 |
| Est Cost Emergency | 0 |
| Est Cost Environmental | 18500 |
| Est Cost Other | 0 |
| Prpty | 20350 |
| Accident Psig | 1000 |
| Mop Psig | 1440 |
| Accident Pressure | Pressure Did Not Exceed Mop |
| Pressure Restriction Ind | No |
| Pipeline Function | > 20% Smys Regulated Transmission |
| Scada In Place Ind | Yes |
| Scada Operating Ind | Yes |
| Scada Functional Ind | No |
| Scada Detection Ind | No |
| Scada Conf Ind | No |
| Cpm In Place Ind | No |
| 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 | The control rooms actions did not contribute to the release. |
| Employee Drug Test Ind | No |
| Contractor Drug Test Ind | No |
| Cause | Equipment Failure |
| Cause Details | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Eq Failure Type | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Relief Valve Ind | Yes |
| Eq Additional Other Ind | Yes |
| Eq Additional Other Details | The Thermal Relief Did Not Re-Seat After The Pressure Fell Below The Set Point |
| Preparer Name | C**** W******* |
| Preparer Title | Sr. Dot Phmsa Professional |
| Preparer Email | C*************@f*************.net |
| Preparer Telephone | 2109202295 |
| Prepared Date | 2019-10-07 00:00:00 |
| Authorizer Name | D***** V** D**** |
| Authorizer Telephone | 2109208855 |
| Authorizer Title | Director Of Operations |
| Authorizer Email | D**************@e******.com |
| Narrative | On 8/18/2019, the customer delivery point downstream of the robstown to ingleside 20" valve/meter site located inside the robstown terminal unexpectedly shut in with no notice given to epic operations prior to the shut in. When the delivery point shut in it caused a back-pressure on the pipeline system that pressured the pipeline system above 1000 psig (but did not exceed the mop of 1440) and a thermal relief on the system set at 1000 psig actuated and vented into a sump at the site, and the sump reached capacity and overflowed into a construction ditch surrounding the sump. The thermal relief failed to close after the pressure fell below the 1000 psig set-point. The accident took place in the early morning hours on a sunday and no operations personnel were on site at the time. One of the project managers was performing a station check on his unrelated project, and found the sump overflowing and notified operations and the thermal relief was shut-in to stop the flow into the sump. No further investigation can be performed as the customer delivery point shut-in occurred on another operator's facility. To mitigate similar re-occurrences the thermal relief was locked out as it is not a required component and will be replaced with a thermal relief set closer to the 1440 psig mop or deleted from the configuration. In addition the sump was piped to return to the suction side of the mainline pumps to prevent an overflow event from re-occurring. And all other similar configurations will be evaluated. |
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