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Marathon Ashland Petroleum (3165), Garyville
Releases of Particulate Matter 10
| LDEQ Accident Number Accident Date |
Point Source(s) | Notes | Amount of Release |
| 128080 2010-12-09 | FCC Unit 205 | Cause: Due to an unexpected loss of power to the control system of the Unit 25 FCCU. FCCU shut down as designed which resulted in less gas feed to the Unit 205 Coker. This decreased in feed caused the Coker Wet Gas Compressor Suction Drum to briefly exceed the maximum safe operating pressure of the drum which resulted in the Coker Wet Gas relieving tot he ground flare. There was no known offsite impacts resulting from this incident. The emissions from the FCCU shut down are permitted as part of the overall North Flare. Compressor spillback opened rapidly to compensate and a high pressure was reached on the suction drum. Pressure control valve opened to flare once pressure reached 21 psig. Followup: No Notes: The FCCU was safely shut down and all other related unit feed rates were adjusted per the FCCU shutdown plan. The Coker Unit Wet Gas Compressor control system compensated for the increased suction pressure by increasing the compressor speed. All aspects of this incident are currently under investigation. | 0.3 pounds |
| 120846 2010-01-16 | FLARE - Refrigerated Butane Storage Emergency Flare Station | Cause: Refrigerated Butane Storage unit malfunctioned during maintenance activities, had to flare to release pressure.
One part of report notes a power outage, unclear if this was purposeful as part of maintenance or not. FLARE. Followup: No Notes: BRQ. No reportable quantities were exceeded, but detailed emissions report included. Maintenance work began; incident is still "under investigation," but no follow-up report included. | 3.8 pounds |
| 120638 2010-01-09 | FLARE: south flare | Cause: COLD WEATHER. "Freeze-related issue": eocene interstage drum filled with liquid due to a frozen drain line, tripped compressors, relief valve on the crude vacuum overhead opened to flare.
Emissions table in report dark and hard to read. Followup: No Notes: Air monitoring team dispatched, crude vacuum gas to flare closed off and re-routed, bypass valve opened but did not drop level in time, steam hose hooked up to the controller to clear line. Refinery Letter states that reportable quantities were not exceeded [BRQ]. Detailed emissions report included. | 37.4 pounds |
| 136157 2011-12-27 | 205 Coker Unit to Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: The incident occurred when the facility was switching from the online drum to the blowdown drum. During the switch, the Wet Gas Compressor surge controller attempted to open the second stage spillback valve. The valve hesitated to open, causing a spillback to trip open. This caused the frac and blowdown to pressure up and the compressor to send the product to the flare until the operations pressure returned to normal.
At the time of the written notification, the incident was still being investigated to determine the cause of the overpressure condition. Followup: No Notes: The unit pressure levels were automatically corrected by the wet gas compressor surge control system. | 0.6 pounds |
| 133997 2011-09-16 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: On 9/16/11, level transmitted 205-LC-2050 failed which resulted in the filling of the Unit 205 C3/C4 Overhead Drum. This caused a pressure increase in the C3/C4 Splitter that led to the opening of the relief valve, 205-PSV-7077. This valve is routed to the flare header and the North Ground Flare. Followup: No Notes: The unit vessel levels were manually adjusted to stop the over-pressure condition. The level transmitter, 205-LC-2050, was repaired. An incident investigation is ongoing. C3/C4 Splitter Overhead leaked for 20 min. Report says the leak lasted 10 min but the release lasted 20 min. | 13.5 pounds |
| 132152 2011-06-30 | Unit 59 North Flare | Cause: The pressure relief valve on the unit 232 rich amine flash drum failed. Material in the flash drum was depressured by flaring until the relief valve would have closed. Leaking release valve and sour water stripper. Material was sent to Unit 59 North Flare (EQT# 0162 and EIQ# 83-74) Followup: No Notes: The flash drum was allowed to depressure to the flare until the relief valve would have close and the valve could be repaired. an incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. | 0.1 pounds |
| 145377 2012-12-15 | South Flare Unit 59 South Flare | Cause: A tube leaked on the Unit 15 Hot Separator Overhead Fin Fans at 17:52 hours. At 18:00, the unit was undergoing emergency shutdown procedures and the U15 dump valve was opened to the flare. The incident was a Gas Oil leak in the Unit 15 Hot separator Overhead Fin Fan Exchangers.
This leak caused a vapor release of hydrocarbons and hydrogen in addition to a small amount of hydrogen sulfide. Followup: Yes Notes: PDF was too large to upload. Unit 15 was depressurized to the South Flare to safely isolate the leaking Overhead Fin Fan. Once the unit pressure was sufficiently low in the unit, the Fin Fans were isolated and the leak stopped. An incident investigation will result in recommendations to prevent recurrence. The reportable quantities for hydrogen sulfide, compressed flammable gas, and compressed flammable liquid were exceeded during this event. A report on October 9, 2013, removed greenhouse gas emissions and revised the estimate of VOC emissions. | 42.2 pounds |
| 143781 2012-10-12 | Unit 59 North Flare | Cause: The initiating incident was a pump seal fire in the Gasoline Desulfurization Unit (Unit 55). The fire was fueled by a leaking seal on the pump. Extinguishing the fire was delayed by inability to close an EIV on the suction side of the pump. This resulted in emergency shutdown of the unit. Two other events also occurred on this day including an upset in Sulfur Plant Unit 234 and a flame-out of the North Flare. Due to the fire and emergency shutdown of the Gasoline Desulfurization Unit, the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit cut feed, sending vent gas to the North Flare. Process vent gas was sent to the North Flare which increased the steam to the flare suddenly, snuffing the flare out. Followup: Yes Notes: PDF too large to upload (109 pages) To re-light the North Flare, steam was gradually decreased and natural gas was added to the flare gas to allow the two available igniters to relight the North Flare. Parts to repair the North Flare pilot system were already on order when this incident occurred. The North Flare was taken out of service when the parts were received and repaired on October 31, 2012. Spare pilot and igniter assemblies are now in stock so that repairs can be made in a timely fashion if an incident like this is to occur again. Total amount of pollutants released was 59438.44 lbs, but 90% was claimed to be efficiently burned off, resulting in 5943.59 lbs that were actually released. The reportable quantity for Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOCs) (100 pounds) was exceeded during the 24 hour period. | 30.1 pounds |
| 143319 2012-09-23 | Emissions from Flare emissions from flare and Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer | Cause: Marathon experienced a partial power outage caused by a malfunctioning substation in the refinery resulted in multiple pieces of equipment in the refinery losing power.
Low pressure stripper Offgas flared in the South Flare due to partial power outage.
Enterprise incident due to a plant farther downstream that had uncharacteristically ceased operation due to an upset condition. The pressure safety valve, as designed, released discharging natural gas to atmosphere due to high pressure on the pipeline caused by the upset condition farther down the line.
Emission points involved were the Unit 59 North Flare and the Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer. Followup: No Notes: Marathon power was restored and the equipment that was shutdown was restarted to minimize further releases. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. High sulfur dioxide from one of the thermal oxidizer stacks in Unit 45 and in addition to a small amount of Unit 15 low pressure stripper offgas was flared which contains a small amount of hydrogen sulfide which is converted to sulfur dioxide in the North Flare. Emission points involved were the Unit 59 North Flare and the Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer. Enterprise personnel immediately began the process of taking the plant down in order to end the release event. Amount of natural gas released is above reportable quantity. | |
| 142430-142532 2012-08-28 | flare outfall 002 | Cause: There were multiple units that experienced upsets during the shutdown and startup activities surrounding Hurricane Isaac:
In preparation for Hurricane Isaac, the refinery units were at minimum rates anticipating a shutdown condition. As a result of these abnormal conditions, the refinery 150 PSIG steam header pressure was significantly low. The U205 Delayed Coker unit uses steam to purge resid and coke from the switch valve and ball valves on the coke drum structure. the low steam pressure ultimately led to the valve failing due to coke build up on the valve. On 8/28/2012 the unit was forced to go on bypass and internal circulation due to inability to switch feed to the offline drum. After the unit was on bypass the Wet Gas Compressor tripped three times. These trips resulted in releases to the flare. This resulted in a small amount of hydrocarbon material to be routed to the ground flare.
Propane Flaring: Due to atypical operating conditions and the shutdown of our third-party propane pipeline, MPC flared propane starting on August 31 at 06:52 AM intermittently until September 1 at 02:45 AM. The flaring of propane was required to balance refinery operations.
No reportable quantities were exceeded. The release calculations are provided in Attachment 4.
North Stick Flare Flame Outage: On September 1, the North Stick Flare flame was snuffed out with steam for a total of five minutes. This occurred while decreasing the amount of propane flaring mentioned above. No reportable quantities were exceeded. This event was reported verbally on September 1st and a follow-up written report was submitted on September 7, 2012 (see Attachment 5).
North Stick Flare Damage: The North Stick Flare was observed to have some abnormal flame patterns prior to Hurricane Isaac. However, during the hurricane it was noticed that one side of the flare tip had more significant flames. After the hurricane on September 11 th an inspection, via a remote helicopter, observed that a natural gas supply line to the pilots had a broken union.
This was causing natural gas to burn just below the flare tip. It is believed that the high winds experienced during the hurricane caused the union to completely break apart. A repair plan is being formulated to correct this issue.
Wastewater Discharge:
MPC discharged untreated process area stormwater via Outfall 002 to the Lake Maurepas drainage system beginning on August 30, 2012 at 07:00 hrs intermittently until September 3, 2012 at 13:00 hrs. The amount of wastewater discharged is estimated to be 300,000 bbls (which is 12,600,000 gallons). Samples were collected prior to the discharge and after the start of discharge to verify that the water being discharged was sufficient quality to ensure no harm to environment. The discharge was monitored to ensure that there was no sheen on the water discharged off-site. It should be noted that prior to discharging the untreated process area stormwater, MPC had reached the on-site WWTP storage capacity of 619,995 bbls of water. In addition, MPC placed an out of service crude oil tank (500-2) back into service prior to the hurricane specifically to be used for wastewater and slop oil storage as needed. This tank was used for excess water storage prior to any wastewater being discharged off-site. Followup: No Notes: This report is linked to two LDEQ incident numbers: 142430 and 142532. Unit 205 Coker sent to the North Ground Flare. The release was identified at approximately 06:35 hours on August 29. 2012 and lasted for approximately 1944 minutes (1d 8h 24m). The compound of concern was Propylene. Totals of 76.54 lbs and 86.15 lbs were released during the 2 24-hour periods involved. MPC considers these emissions to be covered under the temporary variance issued on August 27 of 2012. That variance authorized the temporary permit for the emissions: Sulfur Dioxide 13.3 tons; Nitrogen Oxide 0.9 tons; Carbon Monoxide 7.03 tons; Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) 8.51 tons; Hydrogen Sulfide 0.73 tons. There was also a variance for 3,750 long tons(8,400,000lbs) of sulfur to be stored on a "sulfur pad". These variances were considered the maximum allowed during that period, therefore they are not included in LABB pollutant totals in this report. As soon as conditions allowed, the compressor was restarted. Missed Monitoring/Repair/Inspections Due to the hurricane, personnel were not available to complete several regulatory required tasks, such as weekly inspections, PMs, monitoring, and repairs. The programs and the specific missed requirements are listed below: LDAR Program 5-day first attempt at repair requirement (five components) 15-day final repair requirement (twelve components) Waste Program Weekly satellite collection area inspection (two locations) Weekly hazardous waste storage area inspection Weekly non-hazardous waste storage area inspection Weekly universal waste area inspection Weekly used oil storage area inspection Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program Weekly refinery inspection Spill Prevention Control & Countermeasures Program Weekly inspection of the Contractor Village area MACT II - NSPS Subpart UUU Weekly PM for the pH meter used for compliance demonstration Benzene Waste Operation NESHAP Carbon Canister monitoring for breakthrough (eight events) 15-day repair requirement (four sumps) There is a separate report on this database for the sinking of the "Big Tuna" response boat. Response Boat Fuel Loss: The oil spill response boat became submerged in the Mississippi River on August 29th, due to a surge in the river level which resulted in the loss of ten gallons of gasoline. The reportable quantity for oil was exceeded. This event was reported verbally on August 31 and a written follow-up report was submitted on September 7, 2012 (See Attachment 3). (Attachment 3 was deleted from this file, and added to the report for this event) | 80.9 pounds |
| 141908 2012-08-08 | RBS Flare | Cause: False reading on the 66LT0511 level controller caused the two NC4 compressors to trip. The high pressure on the receiver, due to high liquid level, caused the 66PC0507 valve on the receiver to open the RBS flare. Approximately 6.67 lbs of VOCs were released as a result. Followup: No Notes: The operator blew down transmitter 66LT0511 and opened the bypass valve on the receiver to send the liquid back to the RBS tank. The faulty level transmitter was taken out of service and repaired. | 0.1 pounds |
| 140561 2012-06-16 | North Ground Flare Flange on the Pitch Exchanger 210-1317-08 | Cause: The 210-1513-01 Vacuum Bottoms Pump inboard and outboard motor bearing housings were smoking during routine observations. The 210-1513-02 Vacuum Bottoms Pump (back-up) was already out of service for repairs. The board operator was notified and started reducing Crude charge rate. The 210-1513-01 Vacuum Bottoms pump was shut down due to the outboard motor bearing igniting. The 210 Crude Unit shutdown procedure was initiated. The 210-1801-01 Offgas Compressor tripped due to a high level in the 210-1202 Compressor Suction Drum. Both pumps were already on in automatic. The outsider operator opened the bypass around the flow controller to the Product Receiver. Crude overhead gas was flared in the North Ground Flare. About 5 gallons of crude oil from a flange on the Refinery's Oily Water Sewer and processed in the WWTP. Followup: No Notes: The boardman cut charge rates to Crude Unit 10 and shut down Crude Unit 210. Both Compressor Suction Drum pumps were turned on, and the bypass around the flow controller was opened. The operator increased the suction drum pressure to assist the pumps in pressuring out the level to the startup compressor. The incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. Initial report states material did go offsite. Verbal report and Hazardous Materials Incident Reporting Form state that H2S was released (and incorrectly reporting that the reportable quantity for it is 500 lbs), while the refinery statement letter reports only SO2. | 0.1 pounds |
| 138329 2012-03-25 | RBS Flare | Cause: The pressure safety valve for Tank 250-2 had opened, so the operator blocked in the PSV. Followup: No Notes: No offsite impact was associated with the event. | 1.1 pounds |
| 137197 2012-02-15 | Unit 59 South Flare | Cause: A compressor in Unit 12 (Platformer) experienced a loss of power which caused the compressor to shut down and pressure up. A pressure relief valve opened on the compressor and caused hydrogen to be routed to the South Flare. Followup: No Notes: Operations restarted the compressor and returned to normal operations. The incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. There were no known off-site impacts. | 0.1 pounds |
| 137057 2012-02-08 | Unit 59 North Flare | Cause: A root cause analysis is being conducted to determine why this incident occurred.
The Louisiana Refining Division's Investigative Summary Report states that the initiating event was the troubleshooting common alarm on the Bently Nevada radial vibration proximitor card to include a module self-test for diagnostic information. Followup: Yes Notes: Operations restarted the Wet Gas Compressor. The root cause analysis will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. The refinery stated that lessons learned included: On a Bently Nevada 3500 system, a module self-test or replacement will cause the output signal to go to 0ma. If the output signal is wired to a Triconex system, it will report the transmitter as being an unreliable signal (bad transmitter of bad pv). VOC chemical breakdown is provided. Only the RQ for SO2 was exceeded during this release. | 1.0 pounds |
| 136541 2012-01-14 | Unit 59 South Flare, Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer, Unit 220 Thermal Oxidizer, Unit 234 Thermal Oxidizer, and Unit 33 Sour Water Tank | Cause: Chain of Events:
1/14/12: Hydrocarbon carryover from the Unit 19 Sour Water Stripper caused Unit 220 (sulfur unit) and Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer to trip. As a result, a sulfur dioxide plume was released from the Unit 45 Thermal Oxidizer. During the release, hydrocarbons from the ammonia acid gas header were steamed out to the flare. Units were then shut down to limit environmental impact.
1/15/12: A similar incident took place approximately four hours after Unit 220 startup. During this incident, the flare valve on the fuel gas absorber knockout drum opened to flare to relieve pressure on the drum. Hydrocarbon from the carryover was also sent to the sour water storage tank, which resulted in the tank venting to the atmosphere.
1/16/12: The flare valve from the fuel gas absorber knockout drum was closed at approximately 9:30, and the incident was then determined to be secure.
The entire incident is under investigation.
Follow up report issued 2/26/2013 summarizes results of internal Marathon investigation. Followup: Yes Notes: During the initial upset (1/14/12), Cargill was notified of the plume. All work with the Marathon refinery was put on hold, and the plant's Air Monitoring Team (AMT) was dispatched. The data that they collected is attached to the report. The contents of the Unit 19 Sour Water Storage Tank and ammonia acid gas header were then purged to eliminate existing hydrocarbons. Similar actions were taken to mitigate emissions from the second incident (1/15/12). Units were shut down, the AMT was activated, and fire water was introduced to limit emissions from the sour water tank. This incident was determined to be secured (1/16/12) when the flare valve from the fuel gas absorber knockout drum was closed to the South Flare. An incident investigation was conducted to determine the cause or causes of the incident. Per this investigation, the root cause was identified as Equipment Difficulty-Problem Not Anticipated. The recommendation from this investigation was to review disposition of Fuel Gas Absorber knock-out drum liquid. Report states this action was completed 6/27/12. Only states that SO2 emissions were above reportable quantities. | 9.6 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2013-07-24 | Unit 250 North Ground Flare | Cause: On July 24, 2013, the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor shut down at 16:11 hours and was restarted at 16:26 hours. A second shutdown occurred at 16:48 hours and was restarted at 17:02 hours. A third shutdown occurred at 17:25 hours and was re-started at 17:56 hours. The duration of Unit 210 venting to the North Ground Flare was 60 minutes.
Approximately 613 pounds of sulfur dioxide were released (over the reportable quantity of 500 pounds). Followup: No Notes: Liquid was drained from the Unit 210 Compressor Suction Drum. The Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor was re-started. A very similar event occurred on March 25, 2013 with emissions from the same point source. This report retrieved from EDMS was labeled with the LDEQ number corresponding to the March 25, 2013 incident (LDEQ # 147603). The March 25th event also involved multiple shutdowns of the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor, and the report labeled that event as preventable. It is interesting to note that a similar event labeled preventable occurred less than four months later. | 2.8 pounds |
| No LDEQ Reported 2013-07-21 | Crude Unit Overhead Accumulator | Cause: On July 21, 2013, an overpressure condition in the Crude Unit Overhead Accumulator due to the shutdown of the Sats Gas Unit. Followup: Yes Notes: An initial report for this incident, which included details on what happened and what pollutants were emitted in what quantities, was submitted to LDEQ on July 26, 2013. This follow-up report corrects emissions data submitted by Marathon which originally included greenhouse gas emissions in the incident calculations. | 2.0 pounds |
| 149651 2013-07-15 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: On July 15, 2013, due to a crude oil switch, a high level occurred in the Unit 222 Sats Gas Plant (SGP) Compressor Suction Drum which caused the Sats Gas PLant Compressor to temporarily shutdown. This resulted in some flaring of the overhead gas to the North Ground Flare for about 55 minutes.
The first incident began at 09:05 hours on July 15, 2013, and was secured by 10:00 hours. The second incident began at 19:32 hours on July 15, 2013, and was secured by 19:33 hours. Followup: No Notes: For Incident 1, the level in the Sats Gas Plant Compressor Suction Drum was lowered and the Sats Gas Plant Compressor was re-started. For Incident 2, operating personnel made operating changes to the unit to bring it out of upset conditions. These incidents will be investigated and an action plan to prevent recurrence will be generated. Follow up report submitted 10/23/13 states that original report included Greenhouse Gas emissions, however these emissions are not required to be evaluated for reportable quantity because they are not permitted pollutants. The report updates the calculations without greenhouse gases included. | 1.1 pounds |
| 149704 2013-07-15 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: ON July 15, 2013, an upset in Crude Unit 210 caused the Crude Compressor Suction Drum to vent to the North Ground Flare for approximately one minute.
The first incident was due to a crude oil switch causing the Unit 22 Sats Gas Plant Compressor to shutdown on high level. The second incident was due to an upset in the Unit 210 Crude Unit that cause the Unit 210 Crude Compressor Suction Drum to vent to the North Ground Flare. Followup: Yes Notes: Operating personnel made operating changes to the unit to bring it out of upset conditions. October 23, 2013 additional follow-up report corrects emissions data submitted by MPC. MPC erroneously included greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the incident calculation. GHGs are not permitted pollutant and are not required to be evaluated for reportable quantities. | 1.1 pounds |
| 148974 2013-05-31 | North Stick Flare (EQT 162/EIQ 83-74) | Cause: On May 31, 2013, while discharging a propylene tank truck, the operator noticed that the propylene unloading drum was leaking to the North Stick Flare. There were no known offsite impacts. Followup: Yes Notes: Shutdown the unloading of the tank truck and blocked in the propylene drum to prevent any additional product into the drum. To reduce pressure, the liquid in the drum was pumped down from 50% to 20% and routed to the spheres. Both the truck and rail racks were shutdown. The bypass valve will be replaced An additional followup on 10/23/13 corrected the initial followup report's emissions data regarding greenhouse gas releases. | 0.0 pounds |
| 148876 2013-05-22 | U212 Platformer unit | Cause: On May 22, a small leak and hydrogen fire was observed on the 48" flange on the process piping going from cell 1 of the Unit 212 Charge Heater to Reactor #1. The leak was pinhole sized in width and no larger than 1" around the circumference of the flange.
The emission point involved was a flange on a process line in the U212 Platformer unit. Followup: Yes Notes: Steam was applied to the flange to extinguish the flame and the flange was hot bolted to secure the leak. Once the investigation is complete, recommendations will be implemented. An additional followup on 10/23/13 corrected the initial followup report's emissions data regarding greenhouse gas releases. | 0.0 pounds |
| 148240 2013-04-20 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: On April 20, 2013 the Unit 210 Crude Unit experienced an upset due to a change in the incoming crude state. The flaring in U210 and U222 associated with the upset started at 7:12 AM on April 20, 2013 and was complete at 8:35 AM on April 20, 2013. The duration of Unit 210 and 222 venting to the North Ground Flare was 83 minutes. Approximately 75 pounds of sulfur dioxide were released.
The Unit 210 Crude Unit experienced an upset due to a change in the incoming crude state. The incoming crude had a greater quantity of light components as well as some water. The upset resulted in high liquid levels in vessels upstream of the crude off-gas compressors and the sals gas compressor. In order to minimize the amount of liquid sent to the compressors, which could cause a shutdown of the compressor, a portion of the liquid generated in the upset was routed to the North Ground Flare knock out drum. This action reduced the severity of the incident. Followup: Yes Notes: The crude tank line up was modified to remove the tank thought to be the cause of the water and light ends going to the Crude Unit. In addition, the crude charge rate was reduced to help manage the unit upset. The routing of liquids to the flare knock out drum was an attempt to minimize the results of the upset and prevent equipment shutdowns which would ahve resulted in a much more significant release. An additional followup on 10/23/13 corrected the initial followup report's emissions data regarding greenhouse gas releases. | 0.3 pounds |
| 147603 2013-03-25 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: The two root causes identified were the benzene stripper lower level controller malfunctioned and the operator did not have sufficient response time.
On March 25, 2013 the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor shut down at 18:03 hours and was restarted at 18:26 hours. A second shutdown occurred at 19:23 hours and was re-started at 19:41 hours. The duration of Unit 210 venting to the North Ground Flare was 40 minutes. Approximately 3,385 pounds of sulfur dioxide were released (above the reportable quantity of 500 pounds).
On March 25, 2013 at 17:45 hours, issues developed in the Unit 210 Desalter vessels. As a result of the event, liquid was carried over from the Desalters to downstream Unit 210 vessels. Eventually, liquid filled the Unit 210 Overhead Compressor Feed Knockout drum which shut down the Overhead Compressor. The ambient air monitoring stations located by the ground flares did not detect a significant increase in sulfur dioxide emissions. Followup: Yes Notes: Liquid was drained from the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor Feed Knockout Drum. The Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor was re-started. While sulfur dioxide was the only chemical released above reportable quantity, NOx, monoxide, VOCs, PM10, PM2.5,HRVOCs, and hydrogen sulfide were released over the permit limit. An accident investigation was conducted to determine the cause(s) of the incident. The two root causes identified were 1. Equipment difficulty, design, problem not anticipated (Benzene stripper lower level controller malfunctioned); and 2. human engineering, non-fault tolerant system, errors not recoverable (operator did not have sufficient response time). The following recommendations will be implemented: 1. redesign or upgrade the benzene stripper level indicator 210L10197 to provide backup level indication for 210LC0187 due 12/20/13; 2. add soft stops to 210L1097 to limit flow from the 1st stage Desalter to the Benzene Stripper- complete; and 3. evaluate the hydraulics of the Benzene Stripper bottoms circuit and consider developing a project to eliminate constraints in the system- due 12/20/13. | 1.6 pounds |
| 146849 2013-02-21 | Unit 259 South Ground Flare and Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: The Unit 214 Kerosene Hydrotreater experienced an emergency shutdown at 16:18 hours on February 21, 2013. The process unit vented to the South Ground Flare for 94 minutes. The Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor shutdown at 16:39 hours on February 21, 2013 was re-started at 16:58 hours on February 21, 2013. The duration of Unit 210 venting to the North Ground Flare was 19 minutes.
On February 21, 2013, at 16:18 hours, a power failure caused the Unit 214 Kerosene Hydrotreater to experience an emergency shutdown. As a result of the event, liquid was carried over from Unit 214 to the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor system. The liquid filled the Unit 210 Overhead Compressor Feed Knockout drum which shut down the Overhead Compressor. The ambient air monitoring stations located by the ground flares did not detect a significant increase in sulfur dioxide emissions.
The main parts of this accident were the emergency shutdown of the 214 Kerosene Hydrotreater and flaring from the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor.
The causal factor for the Unit 214 Power Failure and subsequent emergency shutdown was determined to be Equipment Difficulty/Tolerable Failure. The Causal factor for the Unit 210 flaring event was determined to be Human Performance Difficulty/Management System/SPAC Not Used/Enforcement Needs Improvement. Followup: Yes Notes: Power was restored to the Unit 214 Kerosene Hydrotreater and the unit was re-started. Liquid was drained from the Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor Feed Knockout Drum. The Unit 210 Crude Overhead Compressor was re-started. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event. In the 60 day follow up report dated 4/22/13, the following remedial actions were listed in response to the release: Unit 214 portion of the upset: 1) Maintenance corrective actions immediately following release. Electricians and instrument Techs responded to the Satellite building. Power panel 214-PP-B01 main breaker and substation 214-MCC-B01 were reset establishing power to the first power supply. 214-HVAC-B008 was repaired and brought back online. 2) Operations corrective actions after the release. Unit 214 board operator started procedures for shutting down unit. Unit 214 valves 214FC0007 (Heavy Coker Naptha Feed Valve) and 214FC0006 (Kerosene from tankage valve) were closed 15 minutes after the start of the release. Operations awaited Maintenance's confimation that the unit was ready to restart. Unit 210 portion of the upset: 1) Unit 210 operators followed the event reponse matrix to verify the compressor suction drum (210-1202) level, the compressor suction drum valve position, and whether or not the suction drum pumps were running. Operations than began working to get the level down in the suction drum in preparation for restarting the OFFGAS compressors. For the Unit 214 portion of the incident the following recommendations were made: 1) Update the Marathon Standard Practice to require a cicuit breaker cooridination study for all 480V power panel installations for future projects - due 12/31/13; and 2) Evaluate the cicuit breaker coordination for all existing 480V power panels throughout the refinery and determine necessary solutions to achieve coordination where required - due 8/30/14 3) For the Unit 210 portion of the incident the following recommendation was made: Review and Reinforce the Emergency Shutdown Procedures for Unit 214 with the Board Operators - complete. An additional followup on 10/23/13 corrected the initial followup report's emissions data regarding greenhouse gas releases. | 4.2 pounds |
| 146471 2013-02-07 | Unit 59 North Flare Heaters on the Unit 243 Fuel Gas Mix Drum, Unit 234 Thermal Oxidizer #5, Unit 59 North Flare | Cause: On February 7, 2013, around 2:15am heavy rains caused 215-1202 Hot HP Separator to swing 8 degrees high and 215-1204 Hot LP Flash Drum causing liquid carry over to the Sour Fuel Gas header. Hydrocarbons hit Unit 243 Fuel Gas Treaters and carried through to Unit 247 Amine Regenerator. This caused high SO2 on sulfur units (U34, U220, U234) thermal oxidizer stacks and high H2S in the 243 Fuel Gas Mix Drum. In order to minimize any further upsets in the refinery, the hydrocarbons were routed to the North Stick Flare. As a result, Opacity from the Units 205, 210, 212, 214, and 215 heater stacks and the North Stick Flare were observed.
Emission points involved were Unit 59 North Flare, Coker Charge Heater, Crude Heater, Naptha Hydrotreater Stripper Reboiler Heater, Platformer Heater, KHT Reactor Charge Heater, KHT STripper Reboiler Heater, HCU Train 1 Reactor Heater, HCI Train 2 Reactor Heater, HCU Fractionator Heater, Boiler #1, Thermal Oxidizer #5.
A Root Cause Investigation determined the causes of the accident to be 1) Human Performance and 2) Equipment difficulty. Details about causal factor investigation are found in attached PDF. Followup: Yes Notes: Refinery wide, unit charge rates were reduced and hydrotreaters were placed on internal circulation where possible to reduce production of sour gas and sulfur plant feed. The amine that was contaminated with hydrocarbon was stripped to ensure hydrocarbon did not reach the sulfur plants and caused further emissions and/or unit trips. The Unit 215 Hydrocracker level instrumentations heat tracing and insulation was inspected to ensure proper operation. The Unit 247 Amine System Carbon Filter was also placed on-line after the carbon was replaced to remove any remaining trace hydrocarbon from the system. An additional followup on 10/23/13 corrected the initial followup report's emissions data regarding greenhouse gas releases. | 1.6 pounds |
| 146138 2013-01-17 | Unit 259 North Ground Flare | Cause: Unit 222 Sats Gas Plant experienced an upset due to an over-pressure condition on the debutanizer column. As a result, pressure relief valves lifted, sending debutanizer overhead material to the refinery's North Ground Flare. Root cause was a faulty pressure transmitter. Followup: No Notes: The Board Operator decreased pressure on the debutanizer column. The faulty transmitter was replaced. Initial reports from January, 2013 stated no permit limits were exceeded concerning released pollutants. Final calculations from April 4, 2013 determined otherwise. | 9.8 pounds |
| 157829 2014-08-01 | Wet Gas Compressor | Cause: The wet gas compressor tripped due to a motor issue, which caused the overhead of the Fractionator to pressure up. The high pressure reached a safety limit and the unit shutdown. During the time that motor was undergoing repairs, fuel gas was routed into the unit to prevent excess oxygen from getting into the unit regenerator, fractionator and overhead accumulator which resulted in flaring. The unit was then started up in accordance with a written procedures. An incident investigation was conducted and identified Equipment Difficulty-Equipment/Parts Defective-Manufacturing as the Root Cause. Investigation states that the trip was initiated by the motor differential circuit detecting a differential of currency within the motor. The motor relay was initially expected to be the issue. Followup: Yes Notes: The SIS system reacted as designed to shutdown the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) due to the high pressure in the fractionator. An incident investigation was conducted and included the following recommendations: 1) Send relay to manufacturer for analysis (Complete), 2) Review findings from the manufacturer (Complete), 3) Test the differential circuit at the next available opportunity (Deadline-10/31/16) | 230.7 pounds |
| 157090 2014-06-27 | Unit 25 FCCU wet gas compressor shutdown | Cause: The wet gas compressor (WGC) suction flow and discharge pressure dropped suddenly, causing the WGC spillback valve to open 100%. The fractionator overhead pressure increased when the WGC spillback opened up. The high fractionator pressure SIS trip point was reached (36 psi), which tripped the unit. Fuel gas was routed to the fractionator overhead accumulator, which was being vented to the flare to keep pressure on the reactor to prevent O2 from the regen from backing into the reactor. No offsite impacts were observed by the air monitoring team. The reportable quantities for Sulfur Dioxide, HRVOCs and VOCs were exceeded.
Update: cooling coil in Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) failed. Followup: Yes Notes: The SIS system reacted as designed to shutdown the FCCU due to the opening of the compressor spillback valve. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent recurrence of this event. Update: The root causes were identified as 1) cooling coil in Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) failed. Cause of failure is unknown. Root Cause #1: Cannot be determined until the Alkyl Unit Shutdown. Recommendation: Inspect the cooling coil in the Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) and determine cause of failure. Based on the cause of failure, recommendations will be generated to prevent recurrence. [Complete by December 15, 2016] 2) Quaterly PMs on cooling coil in Alkyl Vent Gas Absorber failed to identify the coil was leaking. Root Cause #1: No Procedure. Recommendations: Create Operations procedure for performing the quarterly leak testing on the cooling coil in the alkyl Vent Gas Absorber. Include a step that requires operators to verify proper documentation of test result in PM work order closure. [Complete by November 18, 2014]. Root Cause #2 Preventive/Predictive Maintenance Needs Improvement. Indetify flouride sample locations for discovering a leak in Alkyl Vent Gas Absorber cooling coil [Complete by November 18, 2014]. | 266.0 pounds |
| 157090 2014-06-27 | Unit 25 FCCU wet gas compressor shutdown | Cause: The wet gas compressor (WGC) suction flow and discharge pressure dropped suddenly, causing the WGC spillback valve to open 100%. The fractionator overhead pressure increased when the WGC spillback opened up. The high fractionator pressure SIS trip point was reached (36 psi), which tripped the unit. Fuel gas was routed to the fractionator overhead accumulator, which was being vented to the flare to keep pressure on the reactor to prevent O2 from the regen from backing into the reactor. No offsite impacts were observed by the air monitoring team. The reportable quantities for Sulfur Dioxide, HRVOCs and VOCs were exceeded.
Update: cooling coil in Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) failed. Followup: Yes Notes: The SIS system reacted as designed to shutdown the FCCU due to the opening of the compressor spillback valve. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent recurrence of this event. Update: The root causes were identified as 1) cooling coil in Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) failed. Cause of failure is unknown. Root Cause #1: Cannot be determined until the Alkyl Unit Shutdown. Recommendation: Inspect the cooling coil in the Alkyl Unit Vent Gas Absorber (27-1107) and determine cause of failure. Based on the cause of failure, recommendations will be generated to prevent recurrence. [Complete by December 15, 2016] 2) Quaterly PMs on cooling coil in Alkyl Vent Gas Absorber failed to identify the coil was leaking. Root Cause #1: No Procedure. Recommendations: Create Operations procedure for performing the quarterly leak testing on the cooling coil in the alkyl Vent Gas Absorber. Include a step that requires operators to verify proper documentation of test result in PM work order closure. [Complete by November 18, 2014]. Root Cause #2 Preventive/Predictive Maintenance Needs Improvement. Indetify flouride sample locations for discovering a leak in Alkyl Vent Gas Absorber cooling coil [Complete by November 18, 2014]. | 266.0 pounds |
| 156198 2014-05-23 | U215 hydrocracker Tank 5000-6 | Cause: An emergency shutdown device was triggered due to an incorrect reading on the Treating Reactor Bed 3 temperature indicator in the U215 hydrocracker which depressurized the unit to the South Ground Flare. In response to the shutdown, operations utilized the refinery slop line to deinventory the unit, routing material to Tank 500-6. Natural gas was inadvertently routed through the refinery slop line where Tank 500-6 received the vapor, causing a release through the tank seals.
Human factors also played a role in the incident. Followup: Yes Notes: Root causes identified as Equipment Difficulty-Design Specs and Procedures Followed Incorrectly. At the time of the release, the emergency shutdown system was activated as designed shutdown the hydrocracker. Multiple recommendations have been identified to prevent a recurrence. The Tech Services Department at MPC has been tasked with mitigating the hazards of a single point of failure due to false temperature indication (anticipated completion 1/31/15). The operations department will develop and implement a system to verify all steps are completed and signed off when following procedures. A team will be developed to conduct a hazard analysis on the entire refinery slop system to implement necessary safeguards to prevent unwanted material from entering the slop system. | 11.9 pounds |
| 155856 2014-05-09 | Railcar Inlet Valve | Cause: After loading a propylene railcar, the operator noticed that the inlet valve was leaking and could not be closed. The railcar was depressured to the flare so it could be disconnected and the valve repaired. Followup: No Notes: None. The contents of the railcar were vented to the North Flare Stack. The railcar was sent for repairs. | 1.3 pounds |
| 153584 2014-01-27 | Unit 59 North Flare (EQT#0162) | Cause: During propylene truck offloading activities, truck rack personnel began the normal Unit 65 process by opening a line to the flare to begin the transfer process. The line should be closed after the transfer to storage begins. However, the Unit 65 personnel failed to close the flare line and an amount of material went to the flare instead of to storage. Followup: No Notes: Upon discovery, the line that was open to the flare was closed and the procedure was reviewed with the operator to prevent reoccurrence. | 1.5 pounds |
| 153395 2014-01-16 | Unit 212 platformer, reactor 2 outlet flange | Cause: On January 16, 2014, at 02:58 hours during the Unit 212 Platformer shutdown procedure, an H2 leak developed from the Reactor 2 Outlet flange during the H2 sweep cooldown step, which resulted in a flange fire. Followup: No Notes: Steam was applied to the flange to extinguish the flame and the flange was hot bolted to secure the leak. The reactor circuit was depressured to the south ground flare, which took approximately 30 minutes. | 0.1 pounds |
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