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Motiva Enterprises (2719), Convent

Releases of Particulate Matter

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date
Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
No LDEQ Reported

2005-01-27
TGTU No. 5 Incinerator Stack
Cause: Loss of a boiler and corresponding loss of steam availability

Followup: No

Notes: Has not completed an investigation of this incident and final determination still pending.
100801

2007-11-06
Steam Boiler EPN 31F-810
Tail Gas Treatment Unit No. 4 Incinerator Stack EPN 78H-101
VPS-2 Atmospheric Tower Feed Heater EPN 83H-101
Cause: The seal on a diesel circulation pump on VPS-2 (a crude distillation unit) failed as a reslut of a suspected bearing problem. This seal failure caused the release of approximately 434 bbls of untreated (sour) diesel, which ignited, resulting in a fire.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Motiva has slowed down production throughout the refinery until investigations are complete. Inspected, repaired, and rebuilt the pump as necessary. W/r/t pump seal failure, rotating equipmt and other personnel will complete the investigation and implement necessary changes to monitoring, inspection, and maintenance procedures
60.0 pounds
100454

2007-10-23
Fuel oil pump 70P-384
Cause: While conducting evening rounds on the H-Oil unit, operations personnel noticed a fire on the seal of the fuel oil pump 70P-384. A leaking seal on the pump and high process temperatures resulted in the fire.

Followup: No

Notes: The pump was isolated from the process to cease fuel oil leakage. Approximately 22 gallons of fuel oil was released during the incident with 20 gallons being contained on the unit slab and the remainder being combusted. Operations personnel quickly responded with a fire extinguisher and extingushed the fire. Other operations personnel ceased operation of the pump and isolated it from the process. Motiva quickly activated the Emergency Response Plan. Motiva will continue to inspect pumps and associated process equipment during normal operational rounds for abnormal operation and for environmentally unfriendly and unsafe conditions.
0.0 pounds
98053

2007-07-23
Tank 20D-12 (EIQ 20D-12)
Cause: While conducting demolition activities on the tank 20D-I2 floating roof, a fire began due to cutting of the roof with acetylene torches where residual hydrocarbon remained in the floating roof pontoon.

Followup: No

Notes: Motiva will inspect pontoons and other difficult to access areas that may contain hydrocarbon, and remove any material present prior to resuming demolition activiti
97658

2007-07-08
HTU-1 Kerosene Reboiler (EPN 3F 404)
Cause: an unexpected heater tube rupture resulted in a fire at HTU-1

Followup: No

Notes: Motiva is thoroughly inspecting the heater and other affected equipment and will make necessary repairs prior to restarting the heater and process unit. Will re-evaluate inspection frequencies, preventive maintenance frequencies, operating limits and associated procedures, and make necessary changes to help prevent recurrenc
31.0 pounds
111370

2008-12-11
Tail Gas Treating Unit 3 (77H-101)
Tail Gas Treating Unit 4 (78H-101)
Flare No 3 (19G-301)
Cause: Upset of the ebulated-bed residuum hydrocracker (H-oil Unit) with a series of fluctuating alarms. While responding to the alarms, operators noticed a fire on the compressor turbine casing and immediately responded to extinguish the fire. The primary cause of this event was a H-Oil unit malfunctioning local level controller on the sour oil seal pot causing the drain valve to remain open and lose reference gas pressure across the seal oil pot.

Followup: Yes

Notes: FIRE. Operations began to reduce production by reducing charge rates on units and to troubleshoot H-Oil recycle compressor and fin fan malfunctions. Immediate action was taken to begin the process of stabilizing, slowing down and shutting down the H-Oil unit and other units as necessary. Affirmative defense letter. Motiva inspected and completed insrumentation checks on the level control for thesour oil seal pots the level control drain valve and the level gauge. A faulty high-level switch was found and replaced. COR will schedulean operation's monitoring cycle to ensure proper sour oil seal pots level. COR will also add a level control loop for the sour oil seal pots levels during the next maintenance outage.
144564

2012-11-13
Flare 1-4, TGTU-1,3,4 Incinerator, HTU-1 HSR Reboiler, Boiler #1, Boiler #2, Boiler (EQT0037)
Flare 1-4, TGTU- 1,2,3,5 Incinerator,
Flare 1-4
Cause: This incident involved an upset of the refinery due to a loss of power to the site from our energy supplier's system. Several operating units were affected by the power loss which caused emissions of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide from the release and combustion of hydrocarbons at the Motiva Enterprises LLC (Motiva) - Convent Refinery.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Immediately, the operating units were stabilized to reduce the impact from the emissions. Several operating units were shutdown and remaining online units followed the emergency procedure for steam load shedding to minimize emissions. Exceeded the 500-pound (lb) reportable quantity (RQ) for sulfur dioxide (SO2). SO2 maximum lb/hr emission limits were exceeded at Tail Gas Treating Units 1, 3, and 4, the Flare CAP, and at combustion devices (i.e. heaters) burning refinery fuel gas. Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) maximum lb/hr emission rates were exceeded at Tail Gas Treating Units 1, 2, 3, and 5, and at the Flare CAP. The maximum lb/hr emission rates of NOx, CO, VOC, and PM were experienced at the Flare CAP. Lastly, the maximum opacity limit as required by LAC 33:III.1101.B for SRU No. 4 TGTU Incinerator Stack was also exceeded at the time of the incident.
22.6 pounds
150490

2013-08-19
pump 4G-559
Cause: On August 19, 2013, a fire was experienced on pump 4G-559 due to a seal failure. HTU-1's recycle compressor tripped on high K.O. drum level. A decision was made to slowdown, stabilize, and shutdown. Part of the activities to slowdown included putting the CRU unit on hydrogen circulation; therefore, operations shutdown the CRU charge pumps, 4G-501/559. Shortly after the pumps were stopped, 4G-559 failed, and a seal fire occurred. After thorough investigation, the cause of the seal fire was determined to be the failure of a check valve on the discharge of 4G-559. When the charge pumps were stopped, the downstream hydrogen pushed the naptha in the line backwards through the discharge line. the check valve in the discharge line did not operate as designed and the naptha and hydrogen entered 4G-559 causing it to spin in reverse. This caused friction, heat, and vibration significant enough for the pump to seize. Under these conditions, a seal fire is expected.

Followup: Yes

Notes: The units were brought down in order to stabilize the situation. The materials involved in the fire were largely combusted, as were the materials routed to the flare; they were then dispersed naturally into the air. All residual unburned materials from the pump seal fire were captured by the unit secondary containment system and recycled back into the refinery's recovered oil system. A second check valve has been installed on the discharge line to provide an additional factor of safety against the potential failure of a single check valve.
7,183.2 pounds