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| LDEQ Incident Number Incident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 83975 2005-11-18 | GO-1 Processing Unit | Cause: No information given Followup: Yes Notes: following up from a verbal notification on 11 18 05 | |
| 83649 2005-10-29 | Unit Main Air Blower, RCCU Flare (EPN 8-84) | Cause: RCCU experienced instrument protective function shutdown activation of the unit's MAB just prior to the release. There was low Oil pressure detected and therefore the MAB shut down automatically. The RCCU is dependant on the MAB for functioning Followup: No Notes: remedial actions: all units were secured and steps were taken to minimize emissions, also attempting to implement some mechanical improvement | 2,125.0 pounds |
| 83068 2005-10-12 | GO-1 DEA Treater Tower | Cause: flaring due to a process upset at the source, pressure excursions with no known cause at this ti Followup: Yes Notes: following up from verbal notification on 10 13 05; remedial actions: untreated dry gas sent to the refinery fuel gas system and flared; said that it is not yet known whether this was preventable because the cause is not yet known | 165.0 pounds |
| 81012 2005-08-04 | RCCU Flare (EPN #8-84), West Operations Ground Flare (WOGF- EPN 9-84) | Cause: maintenance was turning a blind when contents from the line started spraying; flaring occurred following the event Followup: Yes Notes: Under further investigation; no flare smoking occurred during this incident; remedial measures: vacuum trucks were deployed to try to capture the Oil in the RCCU drainage system, additional adjustments made to minimize the forward flow into the main fractionator column while isolations were made to the slurry system | 1,072.0 pounds |
| 80785 2005-07-25 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN #9-84) | Cause: indicators of the status of operations were out of service for maintenance and inspection; production of off specification product led to flaring Followup: No Notes: called in by telephone on 07 25 by Shell Chemical. Remedial actions: Material was flared at the West Ops Ground flare. Motiva maintains they were not in control of the incident and that a follow up letter was sent by Shell Chemical | 123.0 pounds |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 90.0 pounds |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 54.0 pounds |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 1.0 pounds |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 43.0 pounds |
| 79812 2005-06-14 | Shell Chemical GO-1 Processing Unit, GO-1 elevated flare | Cause: see notes. power outage resulted in the shutdown of the compressors Followup: No Notes: Operations personnel took immediate corrective actions to minimize the level of emissions; process gases were flared at West Op Ground flare until the compressors re-started and the G0-1 process units were back under control; Motiva maintained that the incident was not under their control, rather the control of Shell Chemical and Louisiana Holdings LLP | 3.0 pounds |
| 76671 2005-02-02 | OL-5 Ground Flare, FG-101 | Cause: level controller on the BD5 Solvent Column was not functioning properly Followup: No Notes: Report from Shell states that no RQ's were exceeded | 22.0 pounds |
| 91641 2006-10-25 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: see notes Followup: No Notes: operational issues at Marathon caused them to send off-specification dry gas to Shell's GO-1 Process Unit. A portion of it was flared at Motiva. | 233.0 pounds |
| 90114 2006-08-20 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit. Unit experiences exchanger leak Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva | 18,796.0 pounds |
| 89273 2006-07-20 | RCCU CO Heater (EPN# 2-91) | Cause: shutdown of residual catalytic cracking unit Followup: No Notes: Existing RCCU operating procedures regarding the re-set of the air to the CO annulus have been amended | 2,907.0 pounds |
| 88507 2006-06-10 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: unexpected shutdown of process gas compressor Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva | 3,690.0 pounds |
| 88170 2006-05-26 | GO-1 Process Unit ; West Ops Ground Flare (EPN 9-84) | Cause: pipe leak on line at the base of a process vessel Followup: No Notes: Measures adopted by Shell will be addresssed in a Shell letter | 569.0 pounds |
| 87231 2006-04-17 | West Ops Ground Flare (EPN# 9-84) | Cause: upset at GO-1 process unit due to a power outage Followup: No Notes: No remedial actions, the incident was not under the control of Motiva | 2,128.0 pounds |
| 87197 2006-04-15 | RCCU Flare (EPN 8-84) and GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 1-90) | Cause: unexpected shutdown of RCCU b/c of catalyst bridging in the unit's spent catalyst standpipe Followup: No Notes: Research modifications to the Reactor Stripper Vessel to improve stability of the catalyst flow in the Catalyst Standpipe; inspect the burp tube on the Catalyst standpipe; repair local flow indicators on the fluidization steam nozzles at the CS; developa hot stand-by procedure for quick acquisition to understand the unit's status in terms of being ready for a unit restart | 6,236.0 pounds |
| 85653 2006-02-06 | RCCU Flare (EPN 8-84) | Cause: a blown tube causes the shut down of Boiler #8 resulting in a loss of steam pressure and slowing of the Wet Gas Compressor Followup: Yes Notes: | 253.0 pounds |
| 97746 2007-07-10 | OL-5 flare | Cause: instrument problems at DHT (diesel hydrotreater) Process Unit caused a vent gas compressor to trip, resulted in flaring at OL-5 elevated flare
amount released was above permit limit/reportable quantities Followup: Yes Notes: secured & shut down the unit "long-term plan to prevent reoccurrence [sic] is to install plug connectors on the unused pins of the DeltaV backplans" | 10.5 pounds |
| 109940 2008-10-08 | RCCU unit CO heater | Cause: RCCU unit discovered several tube leaks in the CO heater, necessitating a controlled shutdown of the heater and RCCU and the diversion of all regenerator flue gas to the atmosphere and away from the flue gas scrubber to mitigate safety concern.
Even went on over 5 days--RQs exceeded.
No DEQ report in this file--follow-up only. Followup: No Notes: 76 tubes that were in poor condition replaced in the CO heater. | 806,024.0 pounds |
| 105124 2008-04-26 | RCCU Elevated Flare (EPN 8-84) | Cause: see notes Followup: Yes Notes: Motiva says event is not preventable because it is caused by upset at Shell Chemical LP - East Site Utilities. Boiler 7 trips causing a swing in the steam header and a steam shortage across the site. The Wet Gas Compressor slowed considerably causing venting of the suction to the RCCU elevated flare. | 5,419.0 pounds |
| 117729 2009-09-04 | hole in pipe of CR-2 unit | Cause: There was a hole in the CR-2 unit's Caustic and Water Wash column overhead piping allowing gas to be released into the air. Note: they are also labeling this incident as a reactor failure Followup: Yes Notes: After the hole in the piping was discovered, the CR-2 regeneration section was shut down and the piping was replaced | |
| 115844 2009-06-20 | Coker Flare | Cause: There was an operational upset with the wet gas compressor at the Coker Fractionator that resulted in the opening of the unit's pressure control valve. The opening of this valve allowed emissions to be sent to the Coker Flare thus allow several compound to be released into the air. Followup: Yes Notes: after immediate response the problem was troubleshooted. In the end, the high level increase in the overhead accumulator of the Coke Incinerator was corrected and operations returned to normal conditions | |
| 127976 2010-12-03 | FLARE: S-2 & S-3 Sulfur units; Coker flare (FE-401), Shell Go-1 & OL-5 Flares FLARE:Shell Go-1 & OL-5 Flares | Cause: Motiva's S-2 and S-3 sulfur plants tripped offline while analyzer FI-3677 was being calibrated. During analyzer calibration, air flow was reduced, initiating shutdown of S-2. Acid gas was diverted through to S-3 and pushed into gas knock out drum resulting in shut down of S-3. Acid gas was routed to Coker Flare and Shell's Go-1 flare. Shared incident with SHELL CHEMICAL LP. Emissions included flaring from both facilities. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Sulfur plants were restarted, operating procedures for safely calibrating instruments will be developed and included in operations training program, training conducted for personnel. Calculations provided confirm that the reportable quantity for sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter was exceeded. | 3,972.0 pounds |
| 127866 2010-11-27 | FLARE: West Ops Ground Flare [EPN 9-84] | Cause: Refinery letter states that "Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process unit experienced an upset when the feed to the unit furnaces was unexpectantly shut off. This process led to flaring at the Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare." SHARED INCIDENT WITH SHELL CHEMICAL PLANT.
Separate report will be filed for Shell LP Norco Chemical Plant-East Site will be submitted. FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: BRQ. Follow-up reports states that no reportable quantities or permit limits were exceeded. No Information Given regarding remedial actions. Refinery letter states that this information will be included in the Shell Chemical incident report. | |
| 127553 2010-11-08 | FLARE: DHT Unit; SHELL OL-5 Flare (EPN 6-84) | Cause: Motiva DHT vent gas compressor tripped due to high liquid level in compressor's overhead accumulator (PV-1987). DHT experienced a rapid increase in feed rate DU-5 unit. Shared flaring incident with SHELL CHEMICAL LP. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Letter includes emissions calculations information. Took immediate corrective actions to return unit to normal feed conditions and restarted DHT vent compressor when flaring stopped. DHT operators were given safety training. | 137.5 pounds |
| 124245 2010-06-16 | FLARE: DHT Unit; OL-5 Flare (FE-101) | Cause: Power outage from inclement weather caused a compressor on Motiva's Diesel Hydrotreater Unit (DHT) to trip releasing sulfur dioxide from the OL-5 Flare at Shell Chemical. Shared flaring incident with SHELL CHEMICAL LP. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. Report states that incident was BRQ but permit limit for SO2 was exceeded. Entergy was called to make repairs and "operations took corrective actions to safely return unit to normal conditions and minimize flaring." | 8.8 pounds |
| 121003 2010-01-22 | DU5 Unit | Cause: LDEQ field report states that incident involved a fire and heavy gas oil leak in the DU5 Unit. Resulted in shut down of DU5, SATS, and DIH units. FIRE.
LDEQ report states that "facility failed to perform operating procedures to prevent or reduce air pollution as required by LAC 33:III:905 A. Followup: Yes Notes: RQ. Reportable quantity for particulate matter and CO were exceeded. LDEQ field report states that according to facility personnel perimeter air monitoring at time of fire was conducted and indicated no off-site impact. As of 1/23/10 approximately 12,000 gallons of skimmed material [oil & water] had been collected. FOLLOW-UP: Resulted in emergency condition. Fire was extinguished. Vacuum trucks and boom deployed to contain spill and firefighting fluid. Soil excavated and transported to landfill. | 8,193.0 pounds |
| 134290 2011-09-29 | Coker Flare FE-401 | Cause: While starting the Coker Jet Pump on 9/29/11 at 6:45pm, the electrical breaker at Motiva's Coking Unit tripped de-energizing the Motor Control Center. Consequently, the Coker Wet Gas Compressor tripped offline therefore resulting in unit flaring and operating in hot circulation mode. Hot circulation mode is an operating mode in which the unit recycles feed at high temperatures. This mode of operation lessens the amount of flaring in comparison to a complete unit shutdown. The initial inspection of the Jet Pump revealed that the auto-transformer serving as a soft start for this pump had failed causing the electrical breaker to trip open. Once repairs were completed, the Coker Unit was safely re-started and flaring stopped. Followup: No Notes: Immediately, Operations placed the furnace F-125 in hot steam standby and brought the Coker Unit into hot circulation mode to prevent additional flaring of non treated gas. Norco maintenance personnel were called out to troubleshoot the trip of the Coker Wet Gas Compressor and related equipment. The auto-transformer was removed from the circuit. Relay coordination was modified in order to protect the new circuit. After troubleshooting, maintenance personnel determined that operations could safely re-start the Coker Process Unit. During this time the Coker Wet Gas Compressor was restarted and flaring stopped. By 12/31/11 a study will be completed to determine whether the auto-transformer can be permanently removed from the system. After this study is completed, a strategy will be created to address the required changes. This action will be completed by 3/31/12. Calculations confirm that the reportable quantity for sulfur dioxide was exceeded as well as the permitted maximum pound per hour emission limits for carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, VOC's, 1,3 butadiene, and benzene as a result of the release. | 347.4 pounds |
| 134190 2011-09-26 | 8-84 RCCU Elevated flare GO-1 Elevated Flare | Cause: On 9/26/11, Motiva's RCCU Process Unit identified smoke exiting the insulation on the process unit's reactor stripper overhead piping, indicating a leak of hydrocarbon. Consequently, the RCCU process unit had to divert feed causing flaring to occur at the RCCU Flare (EPN 8-89). The process unit safely diverted feed and continued to maintain catalyst circulation in order to avoid additional flaring. All operational and safety procedures were following at this time. Immediately after stabilizing the unit, insulation was removed from the overhead piping to determine the source of the leak. the leak was identified as a set of flanges on the reactor stripper overhead piping. Attempts were made to re-torque the flanges and stop the leak. However, the re-torquing efforts were unsuccessful and a decision was made to fabricate and install a blade clamp to permanently stop the leak. As of 9/28/11, the blade clamp was installed and the leak on the overhead piping had stopped. The RCCU had been restarted following all operational and safety procedures and remained at steady operation. the RGHT had not been restarted at that time.
On 9/26/11 Motiva Enterprises LLC RCCU unit was shut down to do some maintenance work. Flaring occurred at the GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 9-84) as a result of the restart of Motiva's RCCU Unit. Untreated dry gas from the RCCU is flared during the restart of the RCCU at the GO-1 Elevated flare before the dry gas can be introduced to GO-1 as a feed. Followup: Yes Notes: The RCCU diverted feed and continued to maintain catalyst circulation in order to avoid additional flaring and stabilize the unit. Operations worked to identify the source of the leak and made preparations for repair. The flanges associated with the leak source were re-torqued in an attempt to stop the leak. A box clamp was fabricated and installed to encapsulate and stop the leak. Maximum lb/hr limits were exceeded for sulfur dioxide and VOC's, because the incident release was spread out across close to 3 days no reportable quantities were exceeded. Two follow up letters were received. | 2,874.5 pounds |
| 134190 2011-09-26 | 8-84 RCCU Elevated flare GO-1 Elevated Flare | Cause: On 9/26/11, Motiva's RCCU Process Unit identified smoke exiting the insulation on the process unit's reactor stripper overhead piping, indicating a leak of hydrocarbon. Consequently, the RCCU process unit had to divert feed causing flaring to occur at the RCCU Flare (EPN 8-89). The process unit safely diverted feed and continued to maintain catalyst circulation in order to avoid additional flaring. All operational and safety procedures were following at this time. Immediately after stabilizing the unit, insulation was removed from the overhead piping to determine the source of the leak. the leak was identified as a set of flanges on the reactor stripper overhead piping. Attempts were made to re-torque the flanges and stop the leak. However, the re-torquing efforts were unsuccessful and a decision was made to fabricate and install a blade clamp to permanently stop the leak. As of 9/28/11, the blade clamp was installed and the leak on the overhead piping had stopped. The RCCU had been restarted following all operational and safety procedures and remained at steady operation. the RGHT had not been restarted at that time.
On 9/26/11 Motiva Enterprises LLC RCCU unit was shut down to do some maintenance work. Flaring occurred at the GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 9-84) as a result of the restart of Motiva's RCCU Unit. Untreated dry gas from the RCCU is flared during the restart of the RCCU at the GO-1 Elevated flare before the dry gas can be introduced to GO-1 as a feed. Followup: Yes Notes: The RCCU diverted feed and continued to maintain catalyst circulation in order to avoid additional flaring and stabilize the unit. Operations worked to identify the source of the leak and made preparations for repair. The flanges associated with the leak source were re-torqued in an attempt to stop the leak. A box clamp was fabricated and installed to encapsulate and stop the leak. Maximum lb/hr limits were exceeded for sulfur dioxide and VOC's, because the incident release was spread out across close to 3 days no reportable quantities were exceeded. Two follow up letters were received. | 4,909.8 pounds |
| 134097 2011-09-21 | 8-84 RCCU Elevated flare | Cause: On 9/21/11, Motiva's SBA Feed Prep Process Unit experienced a block valve malfunction during a back flush of exchanger E-809D. A cooling water supply valve for this exchanger failed in the closed position causing the exchanger to leak for five minutes. Consequently, there was not adequate cooling water to the exchanger and the SBA process unit had to be shutdown and depressured to the RCCU Flare (EPN-8-84). The process unit was safely shutdown following all operational safety procedures. The elevated flaring associated with the shutdown activities stopped on 9/21/11 at 11:15pm. Repair work for the cooling water system was completed and the SBA Feed Prep Unit was successfully restarted on 9/21/11. Followup: Yes Notes: The feed to the SBA Unit was immediately diverted and the process unit was idled. Due to a lack of cooling water, the SBA unit was then depressured and the unit cooling water system was de-inventoried in order to make the necessary repairs. Motiva replaced the cooling water valves associated with the system in order to prevent a similar recurrence. The maximum lb/hr permit limits for sulfur dioxide and VOCs were exceeded during the unit shutdown and restart activities. | 2,176.0 pounds |
| 133785 2011-09-02 | Shell Chemical LP Utilities East Flare (EPN 3-84) | Cause: Motiva Norco experienced a malfunction and shutdown of the RCCU refrigerant chiller compressor (K-7200) resulting in a flare at the Shell Chemical LP Utilities East Flare (EPN 3-84) releasing nitrogen oxide and propylene. Followup: No Notes: LDEQ provided, but there was no Refinery Report included in the file. Motiva states that "final calculations confirmed no reportable quantities or permit limits were exceeded as a result of the incident". | 122.4 pounds |
| 133050 2011-08-05 | Hydrocrakcer unit | Cause: The Hydrocracker unit shutdown due to an electrical failure of the motor on P-1940, the charge pump of the 2nd stage of the Hydrocracker Unit. EPN 4-84 and FE-301 Followup: Yes Notes: Operations shutdown and secured the 1st and 2nd stages of the Hydrocracker. A temporary onsite replacement motor for P-1940 was used to restore power to the motor control center to support HCU restart. | 25,826.5 pounds |
| 132917 2011-08-05 | GO-1 Process Unit to West Ops Ground Flare (EPN 9-84) | Cause: The GO-1 Process Unit experienced a unit upset due to the over-pressuring of a column. This process upset led to flaring at Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare. Followup: No Notes: There were no remedial actions listed in the report. | |
| 132873 2011-08-03 | Cat Cracker | Cause: While restarting the cat cracker until, materials flared Followup: Notes: No refinery letter. | |
| 132264 2011-07-08 | 9-84 (West Operations Ground Flare, FG-201) | Cause: On July 8, 2011 Shell Chemical's GO-1 Process Unit experienced a unit upset due to issues with re-boilers. This process upset led to flaring at the Motiva's West Operations Ground Flare (EPN 9-84). Followup: No Notes: The Go-1 Process unit was safely returned to normal operating conditions. Corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence will be addressed in a separate letter from Shell Chemical. | 1,079.3 pounds |
| 130906 2011-04-28 | HCU Elevated Flare (EPN 4-84) | Cause: On April 28, 2011 at 0717, Motiva's Hydrogen Unit experienced a release to the atmosphere from a loss of pilot flame at HCU Elevated Flare (EPN 4-84).
Prior to the release, Motiva's Hydrogen Unit was in the process of restarting the unit after a planned maintenance activity. As part of the unit re-start procedure, operators are required to purge process vessels with steam and nitrogen to the HCU flare header in order to remove any excess oxygen that may have been entrained in the process vessels and/or piping as a result of maintenance activities. Following an investigation of this incident, Motiva has determined that steam was introduced into the Hydrogen plant process too quickly, causing a spike in nitrogen to the HCU flare which extinguished the flare pilots for approximately 6 minutes. Followup: No Notes: Operations responded immediately to the pilot loss alarm by reducing the steam rate to the flare header and re-lighting the flare pilots. In order to prevent a similar incident in the future, a step will be added to the unit startup procedure to slowly increase the steam purge rate in 50lb increments and hold each rate constant for 30 minutes before increasing to the next flow rate. | |
| 130936 2011-04-15 | FLare: FCCU FLARE: TGTU-4 | Cause: The incident began at Motiva's Convent Refinery on April 15, 2011 at approximately 16:22, when the refinery's Boiler No. 4 shutdown due to an internal tube failure. With the loss of the boiler, the refinery transitioned to steam curtailment and several units were forced to reduce charge rates. As units were being reduced, the excess fuel gas not being utilized was routed to the refinery flare gas system (specifically, Refinery Flares No. 1 and No. 2). The opacity limit was exceeded due to the lack of steam available in the refinery to affectively control the smoke while flaring the excess fuel gas. Also during the transition, the FCCU experienced an upset which caused hydrocarbon to under carry from the high pressure fuel gas knock out drum into the amine acid gas header. As the amine acid gas (and the entrained hydrocarbon carried under from the FCCU) was combusted in the TGTU-4 incinerator, the SO2 and opacity released through the stack was apparently above the permitted limits. The excess emissions ceased when the FCCU stabilized. Followup: No Notes: The excess emissions ceased when the FCCU stabilized. No additional information. NOLDEQ or SPOC letter included. Emergency Condition. | |
| 130330 2011-03-31 | Coker Blowdown Vent | Cause: The facility reported the Coker unit was water quenching the coke material in Cooke Drum PV-918 and encountered a problem with an automated water quench sequence. Followup: Yes Notes: The facility took the problematic water quench sequence out of automatic mode and and manually closed off on the water control valve. Once the pressure was reduced to normal operation, the quench cycle was completed. The sequence has been adjusted, and additional orders have been given to the Coker operators so that this activity is consistent on each work shift. | 1.3 pounds |
| 129817 2011-03-11 | GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN1-90) | Cause: Faulty Positioner ina control valve caused high levels in a suction drum. This caused the PGC to shutdown. The control valve was tested and returned to service. On March 11, 2011, the Process Gas Compressor (PGC) shutdown due to a high level indication in the fourth stage suction drum. The PGC is designed to shutdown under this condition to protect the compressor. Flaring occurred at the GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN1-90) as a result of the PGC shutdown. Additional flaring as a result of this upset also occurred at Motiva's West Operation Ground Flare and will be addressed in a separate letter. Followup: No Notes: The PGC was checked and secured by operations. Feed reductions to the unit were made to minimize flaring while repairs to the PGC were made. After investigating the system, a faulty positioner in a control valve was identified as the cause of the high level in the suction drum that led to the PGC shutdown. Maintenance personnel replaced the positioner and the control valve was tested and placed back in service. The PGC was safely returned to normal operating conditions. Once the GO-1 Process Unit was returned to normal operating conditions the flaring was stopped. An alarm point will be installed to give operations an indication that the control valve is not functioning properly and allow for maintenance inspection prior to failure. | 40,228.0 pounds |
| 129562 2011-03-01 | Coker Flare (EPN 2-84) | Cause: On March 1, 2011, at approximately 1003 hours, Motiva operations initiated a shutdown of the Coker process unit due to a bearing failure on the Coker Inner Stage Cooling Fans (B-2369 & B-2370). This shutdown resulted in flaring at the Coker Elevated Flare (EPN2-84). The unit was safely shut down in a controlled manner utilizing all operational and safety procedures. Additionally, dry gas vent samples were taken prior to shutting down the Coker Wet Gas Compressor (K-2178) to confirm that minimal emissions were sent to the Coker Flare (EPN2-84). Followup: Yes Notes: The unit was safely shut down in a controlled manner utilizing all operational and safety procedures. No additional information. | |
| 140882 2012-06-28 | Shell Chemical's GO-1 Elevated Flare and Motiva West Operations Ground Flare | Cause: There was an unexpected loss of a boiler, causing a steam load shed, causing a unit shutdown, which caused the flaring. There was flaring at both Shell Chemical's GO-1 Elevated Flare and Motiva West Operations Ground Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: No information given. | |
| 139564 2012-05-08 | Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit's elevated flare | Cause: The refinery's RCCU CO Heater was struck by lighting during a heavy rainstorm event, causing the CO Heater to shut down. Consequently, an Instrument Protective Function associated with the CO Heater's FD fans automatically tripped the system's main fuel gas burners to safely secure the heater, as per design. This incident also caused flaring at the Shell Chemical OL-5 Elevated Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations worked to stabilize the RCCU process unit and assess the damages to the RCCU CO Heater resulting from the lightning strike. |
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