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Marathon Ashland Petroleum (3165), Garyville

Releases of Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOCs)

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date
Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
88512

2006-06-10
Flaring from Unit 21 Absorber and North Flare (EQI No. 83-74/EQT 162)
flaring from fuel gas mix drum
Cause: Shell, Norco, had an unexpected shutdown of one of their units which processes Marathon Petroleum Company off gas, MPC had to flare excess off-gas/ fuel gas during this time.

Followup:

Notes: BELOW REPORTABLE QUANTITY.
9.6 pounds
88512

2006-06-10
Flaring from Unit 21 Absorber and North Flare (EQI No. 83-74/EQT 162)
flaring from fuel gas mix drum
Cause: Shell, Norco, had an unexpected shutdown of one of their units which processes Marathon Petroleum Company off gas, MPC had to flare excess off-gas/ fuel gas during this time.

Followup:

Notes: BELOW REPORTABLE QUANTITY.
6.9 pounds
98487

2007-08-07
FCCO Cooling Tower and the North Flare
Cause: The PGC Aftercooler trim cooler was found leaking hydrocarbons into the FCCO cooling tower.

Followup: No

Notes: Claims emission was below RQ.
81.4 pounds
94400

2007-02-27
Marine Dock 1
Cause: The piping on a newly installed liquid separation vessel was incorrectly piped

Followup: Yes

Notes: Root Cause Analysis is being performed. DEQ Field Interview Report states that the facility failed to have control device in place to ensure that the newly installed piping was correctly piped prior to loading.
4.0 pounds
No LDEQ Reported

2007-02-27
Marine Dock 1
Cause: The piping on a newly installed liquid separation vessel was incorrectly piped

Followup: Yes

Notes: Root Cause Analysis is being performed. DEQ Field Interview Report states that the facility failed to have control device in place to ensure that the newly installed piping was correctly piped prior to loading.
4.0 pounds
108823

2008-09-10
North Flare (EQT162 / EIQ 83-70)
Cause: Hatch on the bank of an Enterprise Propane Tanker was leaking.

Followup: No

Notes: Majority of the product from the leaking tanker was transferred to another tanker
0.3 pounds
107688

2008-08-01
North Flare (EQT162 / EIQ 83-70)
)
Cause: FCCU shutdown due to an unknown failure in the unit's Wet Gas Compressor.

Followup: No

Notes: Motor associated with the WGC was replaced.
33.0 pounds
107208

2008-07-15
FCCU Tubing
Cause: Tubing from a flow orifice plate broke off and released LPG.

Followup: No

Notes: Unit start-up was aborted, all fired sources were extinguished and a fire monitor was opened.
1,440.2 pounds
105380

2008-05-05
South Flare (EQT 160 / EIQ 69-74)
Cause: Pinhole leak discovered in overhead propane line in Unit 22. Line was depressurized to flare.

Followup:

Notes: Blocked in line and depressured to South Flare. Incident under investigation.
0.8 pounds
103887

2008-03-12
North Flare (EQT162 / EIQ 83-70)
Cause: During start up of the FCC Unit, excess fuel gas was produced and a small amount had to be flared from the Unit 43 Fuel Gas Mix Drum.

Followup: No

Notes: Marathon also flared non-olefinic fuel gas to minimize flaring.
5.2 pounds
103090

2008-02-15
North Flare (EQT162 / EIQ 83-70)
Cause: A partial refinery-wide power failure occurred. This caused several units to shutdown and relieve to flare. A small exchanger fire also occurred.

Followup: No

Notes: Once maintenance personnel secured the power supply, Operations began bringing units back on line. Follow up report with same DEQ incident number lists different emission amounts.
71.3 pounds
102655

2008-01-28
North Flare (EQT162 / EIQ 83-70)
Cause: Coker Unit's Wet Gas Compressor shut down due to high level in the suction drum

Followup: No

Notes: Pending results of investigation
116.0 pounds
102284

2008-01-15
Unit 46 - Deethanizer Reboiler
Unit 59 - North Flare
Unit 66 - RBS Flare
7 h 22 m
Cause: Shell's off gas compressor tripped causing the fuel gas pressure to increase and relieve to flare

Followup: No

Notes: FCCU Reactor Temperature was cut back to reduce off-gas production
28.5 pounds
115394

2009-06-01
Unit 15 HGO hydrotreater
Cause: Pin-hole leak in unit 15's hot separator overhead fin fan.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Fin fan was blocked in and tube isolated.
0.9 pounds
126299

2010-09-11
FLARE - North [EQT282] & South Ground Flare [EQT160]
Cause: "Due to a power failure, the Shell off-gas compressors shutdown causing Marathon to have an over abundance of fuel gas which required flaring as a safety precaution." FLARE.

Followup: Yes

Notes: BRQ. Refinery letter states that no reportable quantities were exceeded; detailed emissions report included. No LDEQ report. Refinery follow-up report only; follow-up letter states that original written report was submitted to LDEQ on 9/17/2010, but this is not included in the file.
43.9 pounds
125901

2010-08-22
North Ground Flare
Cause: Incident was the result of an electrical problem for the new production unit. A triplicated Triconex level indicator on the 1st stage suction drum malfunctioned, filled with liquid and tripped the wet gas compressor. Drum over-pressured which caused 205-PC-1511-V1 and V2 to open to the North Ground Flare. Released to air.

Followup: No

Notes: Reportable quantities for sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and HRVOCs were exceeded. Remedial actions: The unit 205-delated coker reduced charge rate to minimize the release.
531.9 pounds
123330

2010-05-07
Truck loading rack [EIQ #1497]
Cause: Relief valve on transport truck opened at a pressure below what was supposed to open it during offloading.

Followup: No

Notes: BRQ. Refinery letter states that reportable quantities were not exceeded, but detailed emissions report included. "The truck was offloaded to process to relieve [sic] the pressure and stop the event."
9.4 pounds
121884

2010-03-03
Gas pipe in Unit 43 Fuel Gas System
Cause: Condensate gas was leaking through a pin hole in a piping nipple in the Unit 43 Fuel Gas System. Gas was released to air.

Followup:

Notes: BRQ. Report states the line was isolated and the line depressurized so that leak could be repaired. This spill did not reach a reportable quantity. A clamp was installed around the pipe nipple to prevent future release at the site. Original report identifies release as compressed flammable gas. Later reports break down release into - HRVOCs, VOCs, Ethane, Methane, and H2.
17.2 pounds
121645

2010-02-22
FLARE: coke drum overhead line; 205-PC-1511-V2; north flare
Cause: Water from the offline coke drum overhead line was inadvertently sent to the Main Fractionator, vaporized and overpressured the wet gas compressor suction drum causing 205-PC-1511-V2 to open to the North Ground Flare. Released into air. FLARE.

Followup: No

Notes: RQ. 2548 lbs of Sulfur Dioxide, 15 lbs of Nitrogen Oxides, 6.8 lbs of Hydrogen Sulfide, 21.5 lbs of Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOCs), and 31.7 Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). LDEQ report states that "this incident is an area of concern with regards to LAC 33:III.905." Remedial Actions: Cut charge on 205 Coker due to Fractionator pressuring problem and removed ROSE Pitch from unit. Put ROSE unit on internal circulation. Relieved to flare.
21.5 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.
0.8 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.
3.0 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.
1.3 pounds
128662

2011-01-18
Unit 233 Sour Water Tank
Cause: DEQ/ADQ Emergency Occurrence Notification Form states that no root cause is known and is undergoing investigation. However, fuel gas was discovered to be venting through the Sour Water Tank in Unit 233, the sour water stripper.

Followup: No

Notes: A perimeter was established around the tank. Personnel were kept out of the cordoned-off area. When it was determined that a gas stream was lined up to the tank, the line was closed. Future recurrence of the event will be prevented after analyzing the root cause investigation.
2,315.0 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.
9.9 pounds
144469

2012-11-06
Unit 59 North Flare
Cause: A unit upset occurred in the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) due to a sudden shift in feed composition. Subsequently, pressure increased in the fractionator overhead accumulator causing the pressure control valve to open to the refinery's North Flare for 11 minutes.

Followup: No

Notes:
6.0 pounds
144322

2012-10-30
Unit 59 South Flare
Cause: On October 30, 2012, at 15:20 hours, a propylene rail car was lined up to the flare during unloading process. A Root Cause Analysis is being conducted to determine the exact cause of this incident.

Followup: No

Notes: Products Control personnel closed flare line leading from propylene unloading racks to the flare header system. Incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent recurrence. The reportable quantity for Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compounds (HRVOCs) was exceeded during the 24 hour period. An incident investigation was conducted to determine the cause or causes of the incident. Per this investigation, the root cause was identified as the procedures were followed incorrectly. The SGS operator misaligned the valve line-up and allowed propylene to offload to the flare. The two recommendations (actions) from the investigation were 1) review and reinforce to personnel the importance of following Operating Guidelines while performing all shift duties- completed 2/18/13; and 2) add proper valve alignment to railcar checklist- completed on 2/20/13.
123.3 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.
123.2 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.
0.9 pounds
137652

2012-03-05
Unit 59 North Flare
Cause: The incident that occurred was a unit shutdown and associated flaring event. The wet gas compressor in the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit tripped offline followed by an entire unit shutdown. The shutdown caused hydrocarbons to be routed to the north flare.

Followup: Yes

Notes: RQs exceeded for SO2 and HRVOCs. Also, the opacity standard was exceeded for 8 minutes. Incident only lasted 26 minutes, but the depressuring of the unit continued and flaring lasted approximately 425 minutes. Remediations included cleaning the wet gas compressor motor aux contact and retest to verify appropriate resistance, and also revised compressor control system programming to include motor current to improve reliability of failed-to-start interlock logic.
355.0 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.
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.
0.5 pounds
152171

2013-11-06
North Ground Flare, Heaters on Unit 243, Unit 43, and Unit 59
North Ground Flare
Cause: According to the the 60-day report, the Triconix safety control system inadvertently tripped the Unit 247 Amine Unit Lean Amine Pumps. The pump shutdown caused lean amine to stop circulating to the Fuel Gas Treaters which caused high H2S-laden fuel gas to be sent to the Unit 243 Fuel Gas Drum. In addition, untreated fuel gas was sent to the Unit 43 Fuel Gas Mix Drum. The Fuel Fuel Gas Mix Drums were supplying fuel ga to 26 different process heaters and boilers with the refinery during the incident. As a result, each heater and boiler experienced an increase in SO2 emissions above the maximum allowable permitted lbs/hr rate. In addition, the Unit 247 Flash Drum overfilled into the vapor line to the Unit 210 Compressor Suction Drum, thus causing the compressor to temporarily shut down which resulted in venting to the North Ground Flare.

Followup: Yes

Notes: The refinery Air Monitoring Team was dispatched inside and outside the refinery fenceline. All SO2 and H2S readings were non-detect except for one 4ppm SO2 reading on Marathon Avenue in the refinery. No elevated ambient air monitoring readings from MPCs four ambient air monitoring stations were detected during the event. Operations re-started the Unit 247 lean amine pumps and re-established amine circulation to the Amine Treaters. This recirculation brought the H2S amounts in the fuel down to acceptable levels. The reportable quantity for sulfur dioxide was exceeded during the event. In addition, the permitted SO2 and the NSPS Subpart J/Ja SO2 limit for the emission sources was exceeded for multiple hours. The opacity limits for the above listed heaters and boilers were exceeded. Report was unable to be uploaded. Recommendations made for the Root cause were:1) Human Performance- Revise the Unit 19 Start up procedure with more detailing events on when to the internal lean circulation line while starting up Unit 25 with the appropriate line terminology, label lines accordingly, and retrain operators with the revision. 2) Equitment Difficulty- Evaluate the design of the existing steam tracing for the analyzer, and recommend proper mitigation.
2.1 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.
0.3 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.
0.0 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.
0.0 pounds
149432

2013-06-29
leak from process line in U263 piperack
Cause: On June 29, a pinhole leak was discovered in the LPG feedline from U212 to U222.

Followup: No

Notes: The line was purged with nitrogen and isolated for repairs. The Shift Emergency Response Team was activated and fire monitors were put on the leak to suppress any vapors. Reduced the U212 charge rate to minimize the leak. The line was isolated at battery limits in U222 and U212 to stop the leak. Once the investigation is complete, recommendations will be implemented.
2.4 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.
0.8 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.
0.1 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.
1.9 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.
0.2 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)
363.0 pounds
15660

2014-06-07
FCCU wet gas compressor first stage
Cause: A loose wire in a satellite building caused the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit (FCCU) wet gas compressor first stage spillback to open, which led to high fractionator pressure. The safety instrumented system (SIS) tripped the FCC unit on high fractionator pressure. During the FCC unit startup, the debutanizer pressured up and had to be vented to flare due to lack of heat in the upstream stripper reboiler (heating medium is BPA from the fractionator) which sent ethane to the debutanizer. The flaring event due to the FCCU Shutdown began on June 7, 2014 at 14:37 hours and stopped on June 7, 2014 at 15.48 hours for a duration of 70 minutes. The flare event due to the FCCU startup began on June 7, 2014 at 18:21 hours and stopped on June 7, 2014 at 20:18 hours for a duration of 117 minutes. The total duration of the flaring was 187 minutes.

Followup: No

Notes: The SIS system reacted as designed to shutdown the FCCU due to the opening of the compressor spillback valve. During FCCU startup the operating procedure was followed to minimize emissions to the extent possible. An incident investigation will result in recommendation items designed to prevent the recurrence of this event.
5.5 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.
0.2 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.
92.0 pounds
153442

2014-01-18
Unit 59 South Flare
Cause: During pump maintenance activities, operations personnel depressured the Unit 46 propylene charge pump to flare to repair the pump seal. The emissions were related to permitted maintenance activities; however, the permit limit was exceeded during the event.

Followup: No

Notes: There were no remedial actions taken. Facility submitted a permit application to LDEQ to modify emission limits.
191.0 pounds