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Motiva Enterprises (1406), Norco
Causal Factor: Corrosion
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 88879 2006-06-24 | Subsurface pipeline | Cause: A previously unidentified area of external corrosion on a 20" sub-surface pipeline failed during the unloading of a shipment of crude oil, resulting in hydrocarbons escaping to the surrounding soil. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations immediately halted off-loading activities, isolated the line through the use of existing valves, called out additional personnel to begin containment, clean up and repair operations and notified the Norco Site Supervisor. Vacuum trucks were utilized to recover all standing liquids following the release as well as during de-inventorying of the line. Once the line was de-inventoried and prepped, an external weld clamp was installed over the isolated area of corrosion. After removal of the liquid hydrocarbon was completed, excavation of visually stained soils was initiated. The line will be excavated and inspected on a five-year interval. During the release only the near-surface soils and those directly adjacent to the leak were affected. There was no evidence of pollution migration. A copy of the PSI Investigation report is attached in PDF. | Crude Oil: 462.0 gallons Benzene: 10.3 pounds Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: 11.9 pounds |
| 100173 2007-10-14 | pipe in dewatering system | Cause: A 1/2" diameter previously unidentified area of external corrosion on a 6" sub-surface crude water draw line failed during normal operations. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations immediately isolated the line through the use of existing valves, called out additional personnel to begin containment, clean up, and repair operations and notified the Norco Site Supervisor. Vacuum trucks were utilized to recover all standing liquids. After removal of the liquid hydrocarbon was completed, excavation of visually stained soils was initiated. An external clamp has been installed on the line and the repair area re-coated to prevent additional corrosion. A project has been initiated to relocated this water draw piping above ground. | Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: 10.2 pounds Benzene: 8.7 pounds Oil: 374.2 gallons |
| 126249 2010-09-09 | Butadiene Cool Down Line [wharf] | Cause: Report states that "at 1418 on September 9, 2010, Operations noticed an ice ball on an insulated finished butadiene cool down line. This line transports butadiene to the wharf. Once identified, the line was isolated and then de-pressured to the flare system. The cause of the leak was determined to be due to corrosion under the insulation." Followup: No Notes: RQ. Report states that, "On September 10, 2010, a skinner clamp was installed to temporarily stop the leak...clamp was replaced with an engineered box on September 12, 2010. This section of piping will be replaced during the next scheduled BD-5 unit turnaround. The facility failed to have control facilities in place to prevent the release. This is an area of concern with LAC 33:III.905. Control facilities to be installed when feasible." | 1,3-Butadiene: 21.0 pounds |
| 125564 2010-08-10 | DU-5 Naptha Stripper Reboiler [E-1004] | Cause: A leak in the weld of a pipping elbow of the DU-5 Naptha Stripper Reboiler caused by internal corrosion on the reboiler. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Reportable quantities were exceeded for 8 chemicals including Ethane, Methane, Toulene, and n-Hexane. Refinery report states that "immediately following discovery of the leak, the site's emergency response team was activated and the naphtha stripper was blocked in and depressurized." | Benzene: 3.3 pounds Cyclohexane: 15.4 pounds Cyclopentane: 2.0 pounds Isobutane: 1.0 pounds Isopentane: 8.6 pounds Toluene: 22.4 pounds n-Hexane: 14.9 pounds n-Pentane: 9.9 pounds 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane: 1.0 pounds 2,3,3-Trimethylpentane: 7.0 pounds 2,3,4-Trimethylpentane: 0.8 pounds 2,3-Dimethylhexane: 20.0 pounds 2,3-Dimethylpentane: 3.1 pounds 2,4-Dimethylhexane: 3.3 pounds 2,4-Dimethylpentane: 1.4 pounds 2,5-Dimethylhexane: 5.7 pounds |
| 124186 2010-06-15 | Wharf Berth 1: high sulfur light product line | Cause: LDEQ report states, "Motiva reported a leaking high sulfur light product line at the wharf that released approximately six barrels of naptha to the Mississippi River. Leak was caused by external corrosion, and two contributing factors were identified. First, the line was found to be in contact with the insulation of adjacent piping, causing water accumulation between the lines. Additionally, inadequate coating was discovered on the blistered section of piping." A total of 1,748 pounds of chemicals were released to the air. Followup: No Notes: RQ. LDEQ report states that "Motiva took the following measures to prevent reoccurrence of this incident: the blistered section of piping will be replaced so it does not contact near-by equipment and the new line will be adequately coated to protect from external corrosion. Motiva has determined that the release was preventable. This incident is an area of concern with regards to LAC 33:III.905 and LAC 33:IX.501.D." | Benzene: 59.0 pounds Xylene: 162.0 pounds Naptha (Crude): 280.0 gallons Hexane: 115.0 pounds Ethylbenzene: 28.0 pounds m-Xylene: 162.0 pounds Toluene: 95.0 pounds 2,3,3-Trimethylpentane: 87.0 pounds 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene: 49.0 pounds Styrene: 9.0 pounds 1,3-Butadiene: 0.0 pounds Butane: 39.0 pounds Cresol: 0.0 pounds Cumene: 3.0 pounds Unknown Substance: 1,089.0 pounds Naphthalene: 11.0 pounds |
| 123043 2010-04-25 | FLARE - HCU elevated flare | Cause: FLARE. FIRE. Power failure caused rapid shutdown of Hydrocracking Unit due to a valve failure. Moisture had accumulated causing corrosion on the wiring and connections. During troubleshooting, hydroprocessing exchanger E-1057 bottom head caught fire. Fire extinguished with water, no injuries. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. No RQs exceeded but did exceed max lb per hour permit limit for SO2. Process unit restarted and conditions returned to normal. Wiring, connector block, and seal repaired to prevent moisture from causing further corrosion. | |
| 143782 2012-10-12 | Six inch fuel gas line | Cause: On October 12, 2012 at approximately 13:04 hours, a leak was discovered on a six inch fuel gas line located in a pipe rack near the CUS blend drum. The leak resulted in a release of Isobutane and Propane from the process gas piping.
The leak was caused by internal corrosion. Followup: Yes Notes: Immediately upon discovery of the leak, Motiva operation responded by isolating the six inch fuel gas piping at both ends. Additionally, this section of piping was despressured and taken out of service to stop the leak. The line was then prepared for maintenance inspection. The leak was caused by internal corrosion, and x-ray results revealed pitting at the leak point. On October 16, 2012 Motiva installed an engineered box over the leak point to permanently repair the piping. No mention of any pounds or gallons. | |
| 136650 2012-01-20 | An Alky six-inch pipeline on the north side of OP-1 process gas compressor | Cause: The leak was caused by internal corrosion, and x-ray results revealed pitting at the leak point. 6 inch pipeline on northside of OP-1 process gas compressor PGC. Followup: Yes Notes: Upon discovery of the leak, the refinery isolated the six-inch fuel gas piping at both ends. The problematic section of piping was also depressured and taken out of service to stop the leak. The line was prepared for maintenance inspection, from which the cause--internal corrosion--was discovered. On January 27, 2012, the refinery installed an engineered box over the leak point to permanently repair the piping. | |
| 152746 2013-12-05 | line leak near Tank F-492 | Cause: ON December 5, 2013, operations personnel in Logistics discovered a line leaking #6 Oil in the containment area near tank F-492. Immediately after discovery, remediation and maintenance efforts began. Followup: Yes Notes: Liquids were recovered using a vacuum truck. Contaminated soils were excavated and properly disposed. Material that evaporated during the release and recovery operation was released to the atmosphere and dispersed naturally. Operations worked to identify the exact leak source on this insulated line. Insulators were dispatched to remove insulation which identified a hole in the top side of the pipe which was caused by corrosion, and the line was isolated. All impacted soils were excavated and properly disposed. Motiva has no current knowledge of pollution migration as material was remediated and recovered in the containment area. | #6 Oil: 44.9 gallons |
| 146682 2013-02-18 | 4-84 Hydrocracker Flare (FE-301) | Cause: On February 18, 2013 Motiva Enterprises in Norco experienced a relase of benzene, butane, flammable gas, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, propane, and volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere due to a release valve on the dubutanizer relieving at the Hydrocracking Unit (HCU) and flaring at the Hydrocracker Flare (EPN 4-84). The flaring was caused by an unexpected shutdown of the second stage of the Hydrocracker Unit.
On February 18, 2013 at 0628 hours, the atmospheric relieve valve on the debutanizer at Motiva's Hydrocracking Unit (HCU) relieved, ultimately leading to the second stage of the HCU shutting down. The atmospheric release from the debutanizer column was due to a tube rupture on one of the upright exchangers in the second stage of the HCU. The second stage of the HCU was shutdown to stabilize the unit and minimize safety risks. Followup: Yes Notes: This release began on February 18, 2013 and ended on March 13, 2013. The repair of the ruptured tube on the upright exchangers in the second stage of the HCU was completed on March 11, 2013. Start up activities began once a pressure test was completed on the previously damaged exchanger and were completed on March 13, 2013 at 1600 hours. While the repair was being completed, high purity hydrogen was flared and emissions were below the permitted limits. It was determined that the cause of the tube rupture was as a result of stress corrosion cracking. To prevent this accident from reoccuring, the method to decontaminate the exchanger will change. During the next unit turnaound, the exchanger will be decontaminated using a different wash, which will prevent stress corrosion cracking. | Benzene: 13.7 pounds Carbon Monoxide: 4,866.3 pounds NOx: 894.4 pounds Particulate Matter: 168.4 pounds Sulfur Dioxide: 1.1 pounds Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): 3,015.9 pounds Hexane: 16.0 pounds Toluene: 2.1 pounds |
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