PHMSA Report 20220009
PHMSA Report 20220009
Hazardous liquid gravity and reporting-regulated-only incident in LOVING, LEA County, NM. Reported cause: EQUIPMENT FAILURE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 1 CRUDE OIL released, $720 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings.
Report number: 20220009.
Operator ID: 32099.
Reported incident date: 1/21/2022 17:35.
Cause detail: MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT
Cause detail: ON JANUARY 21, 2022, AT APPROXIMATELY 17:35, A CRUDE OIL LEAK OCCURRED ON THE CIMAREX JAMES 20 LACT UNIT SAMPLE POT AT THE CIMAREX JAMES 20 TANK BATTERY. THIS LACT UNIT MEASURES THE PRODUCER'S PRODUCT FROM THE TANK BATTERY TO THE CG124 CIMAREX NM DD5 PIPELINE, A NON-REGULATED GATHERING SYSTEM LOCATED 24 MILES EAST OF LOVING, NEW MEXICO. WHILE A THIRD-PARTY PUMPER WAS WORKING AT THE TANK BATTERY, HE NOTICED THAT THE LACT UNIT SAMPLE POT WAS OVERFILLING AND CONTACTED OPERATIONS. WHEN OPERATIONS ARRIVED, THEY SECURED THE LEAK AND ISOLATED THE LACT UNIT BY MANUALLY CLOSING THE SUCTION AND DISCHARGE VALVES. THE CAUSE OF THE LEAK WAS THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SAMPLE SOLENOID STUCK OPEN THUS CAUSING THE SAMPLE POT TO OVERFILL AND SPILLING 1 BARREL OF CRUDE OIL ON THE LACT UNIT PAD. ALL FREE PRODUCT WAS CLEANED UP FROM THE LACT UNIT PAD. ON JANUARY 24, 2022, A NEW ELECTROMAGNETIC SAMPLE SOLENOID WAS INSTALLED AND AT APPROXIMATELY 11:00 THE LACT UNIT WAS PUT BACK INTO SERVICE. ALL SAMPLE SYSTEMS ARE CHECKED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND IF ANY ISSUES ARE FOUND, THEY ARE RECTIFIED IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT FUTURE SPILLS/LEAKS.
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