LA Bucket Brigade : Refinery Accident Database

Motiva Enterprises, LLC, Norco

Releases of Hexane

LDEQ Incident Number Incident Date	Point Source(s)	Notes	Amount of Release
84593 2005-12-15	St. Rose Flare	Cause: on 12 15, the flare pilot regulator failed, and the pilot fuel gas dropped below normal; during the failure, the pilot went out due to high winds; the flare continued to remain lit with the continuous sweep gas flow and was visibl Followup: No Notes: Follow up to a verbal notification on 12 15 05. Motiva claims that this was not preventable because of an unexpected equiParticulate Matterent failure.	0
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	5,014.0 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	1.0 pounds
78205 2005-04-13	RCCU Flare (EPN #8-84)	Cause: No information given Followup: Yes Notes: no listed remedial actions
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.
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	38.0 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	0
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	1.0 pounds
93241 2007-01-12	Hydrocracker Unit	Cause: see notes Followup: Yes Notes: Release due to RV release to the atmospheric vent
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.	85.0 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.
126371 2010-09-14	FLARE: RCCU flare (FE-201); Shell GO-1 Flare (EPN 1-90)	Cause: RCCU unit tripped and shut-down. Spend catalyst slide valve was not functioning properly and shut-down occurred during troubleshooting of valve. Shared flaring incident with SHELL CHEMICAL LP [GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 1-90)]. Followup: No Notes: Initiated study to review current maintenance program. Slide valve failure was also identified as a site threat and entered into Motiva's threats database to be tracked.	103.4 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."	115.0 pounds
123327 2010-05-08	FLARE: HCU elevated Flare (EPN-4-84)	Cause: "Motiva CR-2 recycle gas compressor (K-2057) tripped due to an expected high level in the CR-2 product separator vessel, which subsequently tripped the CR-2 process unit. A sudden increase in the level in the CR-2 product separator occurred while Motiva operators were placing exchangers (E-1243/44/45) back in service." This subsequently caused the HCU elevated Flare (EPN-4-84) to release naphtha-cyclohexane, ethylbenzene, napthalene,hydrotreated heavy naphtha, hexane, toluene, xylene. FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: BRQ. The refinery letter states that no reportable quantities were exceeded during this incident.
121815 2010-03-01	FLARE - Shell's GO-1 Elevated Flare (EPN 1-90)	Cause: LDEQ report states, "cat cracker tripped due to main air blower problems." Refinery letter states there was an unexpected shutdown of Motiva's RCCU Process Unit; had to flare dry gas being fed to Shell's GO-1 Process Unity to meet specifications to prevent further contamination to GO-1 and need for additional flaring. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: RQ. Reportable quantities exceeded. File includes letters from both Motiva and Shell Chemical. Motiva letter dated 3/8/2010 references submitting a follow-up within 60 day and Shell letter references "a separate letter from Motiva dated 4/28/10," but follow-up letter from Motiva is not included in file.	146.8 pounds
121572 2010-02-17	FLARE - HCU Elevated Flare [EPN4-84], Relief Valve [RV1178 & RV1204]	Cause: Loss of electrical breaker powering most of the large motors in the hydrocracking unit caused two columns to "release to atmosphere;" RV-1178 on the Rectified Absorber Column for 30secs, RV-1204 on the Caustic Water Wash column "momentarily." FLARE. Followup: Yes Notes: BRQ. Refinery Follow-up Letter states "final calculations confirm that no reportable quantities were exceeded as a result of this release." Breaker loss discovered & repaired, operations returned to normal.
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.	123.3 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.	51.6 pounds
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.	22.5 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.	370.3 pounds
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.