{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 52021001WL","title":"FREEPORT-MCMORAN OIL & GAS — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2021-04-14","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 195.444, 195.446(b)(4), 195.446(c)(2), 195.446(c)(3), 195.446(d)(2), 195.446(d)(3), 195.446(e)(4), 195.446(e)(5), 195.446(e)(6), 195.446(f)(1), 195.446(h), 195.446(h)(6), 195.446(j)(1), 195.446(j)(2).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021001wl.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021001wl.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021001wl","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/52021001WL","body":"Warning Letter involving FREEPORT-MCMORAN OIL & GAS. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.444,  195.446(b)(4),  195.446(c)(2),  195.446(c)(3),  195.446(d)(2),  195.446(d)(3),  195.446(e)(4),  195.446(e)(5),  195.446(e)(6),  195.446(f)(1),  195.446(h),  195.446(h)(6),  195.446(j)(1),  195.446(j)(2). The case was opened on 2021-04-14 and is reported as closed as of 2021-04-14. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n52021001WL_Warning Letter_04142021_(20-173099).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021001WL/52021001WL_Warning%20Letter_04142021_(20-173099).pdf\n\n52021001WL_Warning Letter_04142021_(20-173099)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021001WL/52021001WL_Warning%20Letter_04142021_(20-173099)_text.pdf\n\n52021001WL_Warning Letter_04142021_(20-173099)_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nVIA E-MAIL TO MR. TODD CANTRALL\nApril 14, 2021\nMr. Todd Cantrall\nVP Operations\nFreeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas\n11450 Compaq Center Drive West\nBuilding 9, Suite 450\nHouston, TX 77070\nCPF 5-2021-001-WL\nDear Mr. Cantrall:\nDuring the week of October 26 through 30, 2020, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code\n(U.S.C.), performed an inspection of the Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas (Freeport-McMoRan)\nLompoc Oil & Gas Plant (LOGP) Control Room located in Lompoc, California. This inspection\nincluded procedures, records, and observations associated with the Control Room Management\nProgram.\nAs a result of the inspection, it is alleged that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The items inspected\nand the probable violations are:\n\n\n\n1. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(b) Roles and responsibilities. Each operator must define the roles and\nresponsibilities of a controller during normal, abnormal, and emergency operating\nconditions. To provide for a controller's prompt and appropriate response to\noperating conditions, an operator must define each of the following:\n(1) …\n(4) A method of recording controller shift-changes and any hand-over of\nresponsibility between controllers.\nThe records provided by the operator for shift handover and shift changes were for 2016 through\nthe time of the inspection in October 2020. The records indicated PXP as the operator. However,\nFreeport-McMoRan purchased the assets in 2013. The forms have not been updated for multiple\nyears to reflect the current owner/operator.\nThe following records were unable to demonstrate compliance based on incomplete\ndocumentation:\n1. 2. 3. The record dated July 13, 2019, was missing the incoming controller's name, time, and date.\nThe record dated July 19, 2019, was missing the time and date from the incoming controller.\nThe record dated November 28, 2018, (04:50) was missing the outgoing controller's last\nname, time, date, and the minimum shift change information was not completed.\n4. The record dated November 28, 2018, (12:00) was missing the outgoing controller's last\nname and the minimum shift change information was not completed.\n5. The record dated November 27, 2018, was missing the incoming controller's last name, date,\nand time.\n6. 7. The record dated July 23, 2017, was missing the minimum shift change information.\nThe record dated May 11, 2016, was missing the minimum shift change information from\npage 2.\n8. The record dated May 24, 2016, (04:50) was missing the incoming controller's name, date,\nand time.\n9. The record dated May 24, 2016, (16:50) was missing the outgoing controller's name, time,\ndate, and the minimum shift change information was not completed.\n10. The record dated May 25, 2016, (04:50) was missing the incoming controller's name, time,\nand date.\n11. The record dated May 25, 2016, (16:40) was missing the incoming controller's name and\ntime.\n2. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(c) Provide adequate information. Each operator must provide its controllers with\nthe information, tools, processes and procedures necessary for the controllers to\ncarry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined by performing each\nof the following:\n(1) …\n2\n\n\n\n(2) Conduct a point-to-point verification between SCADA displays and related field\nequipment when field equipment is added or moved and when other changes that\naffect pipeline safety are made to field equipment or SCADA displays;\nLOGP failed to follow their procedure for documenting point-to-point verifications. The form\nused to document was different than the form required per the procedure. The procedure requires\nthe use of Form 403. However, the records indicated another form was used for documentation.\nRecords for the 2016 Phase I pipeline swap point-to-point verification could not be provided.\nThe operator failed to demonstrate that the point-to-point verification for the 8\" crude line from\nIrene to Valve Site 2, and the 20\" crude line from Valve Site West to the LOGP facility was\nperformed.\n3. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(c) Provide adequate information. Each operator must provide its controllers with\nthe information, tools, processes and procedures necessary for the controllers to\ncarry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined by performing each\nof the following:\n(1) …\n(3) Test and verify an internal communication plan to provide adequate means for\nmanual operation of the pipeline safely, at least once each calendar year, but at\nintervals not to exceed 15 months;\nThe records for the 2016 to 2020 internal communications SCADA testing (drills) are confusing\nand fail to provide how the drill was conducted, what the scenario for the drill included, and\nconsistent documentation. The procedure requires all qualified controllers to sign off on the drill\neven if they weren’t working at the time of the drill. The records fail to follow the process that\nLOGP verbally described during the inspection.\n4. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(d) Fatigue mitigation. Each operator must implement the following methods to\nreduce the risk associated with controller fatigue that could inhibit a controller's\nability to carry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined:\n(1) …\n(2) Educate controllers and supervisors in fatigue mitigation strategies and how off-\nduty activities contribute to fatigue;\nLOGP failed to follow its procedure for fatigue refresher training. Under the Control Room\nManagement Operating & Maintenance Plan, Section 500 – Fatigue Management, Subsection\n505 – Fatigue Education and Annual Review (Revised October 2014), states that training shall\nbe conducted once every year for qualified controllers.\nOne qualified controller did not complete the refresher training in 2019, to educate controllers in\nfatigue mitigation strategies and how off duty hours can contribute to fatigue.\n3\n\n\n\n5. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(d) Fatigue mitigation. Each operator must implement the following methods to\nreduce the risk associated with controller fatigue that could inhibit a controller's\nability to carry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined:\n(1) …\n(3) Train controllers and supervisors to recognize the effects of fatigue;\nLOGP failed to follow its procedure for fatigue refresher training. Under the Control Room\nManagement Operating & Maintenance Plan, Section 500 – Fatigue Management, Subsection\n505 – Fatigue Education and Annual Review (Revised October 2014), states that training shall\nbe conducted once every year for qualified controllers.\nOne qualified controller did not complete the refresher training in 2019. Records indicate the\ncontroller failed to complete the training to recognize the effects of fatigue.\n6. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a\nwritten alarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to\nalarms. An operator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) …\n(4) Review the alarm management plan required by this paragraph at least once\neach calendar year, but at intervals not exceeding 15 months, to determine the\neffectiveness of the plan;\nLOGP’s procedure for the annual review of the alarm management plan has clear metrics\nidentified that are required during review of the plan. While the annual reviews appear to be have\nbeen performed, the records fail to demonstrate how or if the metrics were reviewed to determine\nthe effectiveness of the plan.\n7. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a written\nalarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to alarms. An\noperator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) …\n(5) Monitor the content and volume of general activity being directed to and\nrequired of each controller at least once each calendar year, but at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, that will assure controllers have sufficient time to analyze and\nreact to incoming alarms;\nForm 610 is used to document the annual review for monitoring the content and general activity\nfor each controller. This form was used from 2016 to 2019. These records are virtually the same\nfor each year. The review appears to consist of copying the notes/comments from the previous\n4\n\n\n\nyear. No meaningful study or analysis is occurring to monitor the content and volume of general\nactivity being directed to each controller.\n8. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a written\nalarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to alarms. An\noperator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) …\n(6) Address deficiencies identified through the implementation of paragraphs (e)(1)\nthrough (e)(5) of this section.\nLOGP failed to have any records to demonstrate that they addressed any identified deficiencies.\n9. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(f) Change management. Each operator must assure that changes that could affect\ncontrol room operations are coordinated with the control room personnel by\nperforming each of the following:\n(1) Implement section 7 of API RP 1168 (incorporated by reference, see § 195.3) for\ncontrol room management change and require coordination between control room\nrepresentatives, operator's management, and associated field personnel when\nplanning and implementing physical changes to pipeline equipment or\nconfiguration;\nNo records were provided to demonstrate the controllers were provided with notification and\ntraining to assure their ability to safely incorporate Phase 1 & Phase 2 valve projects as follows:\nPhase 1 – No records of training or notification were provided.\nPhase 2 – LOGP provided a record of training for Phase 2, however, there was no record of the\noperators being notified prior to the changes being incorporated.\n10. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(h) Training. Each operator must establish a controller training program and review\nthe training program content to identify potential improvements at least once each\ncalendar year, but at intervals not to exceed 15 months. An operator's program\nmust provide for training each controller to carry out the roles and responsibilities\ndefined by the operator.\nThe annual training program and effectiveness review records are almost identical from 2016 to\n2019. The same comments appear to have been copied from the previous year. It does not appear\nthat a meaningful review is being performed. Additionally, no records of controller training\nelements could be provided.\n5\n\n\n\n11. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(h) Training. Each operator must establish a controller training program and review\nthe training program content to identify potential improvements at least once each\ncalendar year, but at intervals not to exceed 15 months. An operator's program\nmust provide for training each controller to carry out the roles and responsibilities\ndefined by the operator. In addition, the training program must include the\nfollowing elements:\n(1) …\n(6) Control room team training and exercises that include both controllers and other\nindividuals, defined by the operator, who would reasonably be expected to\noperationally collaborate with controllers (control room personnel) during normal,\nabnormal or emergency situations. Operators must comply with the team training\nrequirements under this paragraph no later than January 23, 2018.\nLOGP’s records show that it had not performed any control room team training as required, by\nthe time of the inspection in October 2020.\n12. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(j) Compliance and deviations. An operator must maintain for review during\ninspection:\n(1) Records that demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section;\nMost of the records provided to demonstrate compliance were vague at best. Many records fail to\ndemonstrate that the procedures were followed. Many records for annual reviews document the\nsame for each section of the review. Meaningful and thorough annual reviews are not occurring.\nLOGP does not appear to have any quality assurance/quality control processes to ensure that\ncompliance records are completed accurately and fully.\nMany records were not readily retrievable and took a long time to be located. Electronic records\nare not kept in a reasonable structure to readily find records.\n13. § 195.446 - Control room management.\n(j) Compliance and deviations. An operator must maintain for review during\ninspection:\n(1) …\n(2) Documentation to demonstrate that any deviation from the procedures required\nby this section was necessary for the safe operation of the pipeline facility.\nLOGP had one (1) hour of service (HOS) deviation recorded. The deviation occurred on January\n31, 2019. However, the deviation wasn’t approved by the supervisor until October 31, 2019, nine\nmonths after the deviation occurred, and LOGP failed to provide documentation that the\ndeviation was necessary for the safe operation of the pipeline facility.\n6\n\n\n\n14. § 195. 444 - CPM leak detection.\nEach computational pipeline monitoring (CPM) leak detection system installed on a\nhazardous liquid pipeline transporting liquid in single phase (without gas in the\nliquid) must comply with API RP 1130 (incorporated by reference, see § 195.3) in\noperating, maintaining, testing, record keeping, and dispatcher training of the\nsystem.\nNo records were available at the time of the inspection to demonstrate compliance with 195.444,\nspecifically maintenance, and operations.\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$222,504 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,225,034 for a\nrelated series of violations. For violation occurring on or after July 31, 2019 and before January\n11, 2021, the maximum penalty may not exceed $218,647 per violation per day the violation\npersists, up to a maximum of $2,186,465 for a related series of violations. For violation\noccurring on or after November 27, 2018 and before July 31, 2019, the maximum penalty may\nnot exceed $213,268 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed $2,132,679.\nFor violation occurring on or after November 2, 2015 and before November 27, 2018, the\nmaximum penalty may not exceed $209,002 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not\nto exceed $2,090,022.\nWe have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in this case, and have\ndecided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this\ntime. We advise you to correct the items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in\nFreeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas being subject to additional enforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 5-2021-001-WL. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement\naction is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your\nresponsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the\ncomplete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions\nyou believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe\nthe redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nDustin Hubbard\nDirector, Western Region, Office of Pipeline Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry\nPHP-500 D. Fehling (#20-173099)\nMr. David Rose, Director, Environmental Health & Safety, Freeport-McMoRan Oil &\nGas\n7","truncated":false,"body_characters":16753}