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Shell Chemical East (26336), Norco

Releases of Carbon Dioxide

LDEQ Accident Number
Accident Date		 Point Source(s) Notes Amount of Release
152977

2013-12-21		OL-5 Ground (EPN 7-84) and Elevated (6-84) Flares
OL-5 Ground flare (EPN 7-84)
Cause: On December 21, 2013, Shell Chemical's OL-5 operations discovered a pressure relief device opening to the OL-5 flare system.

Followup: Yes

Notes: To close the pressure relief valve and stop the flow to the flare system, operations reduced the pressure of the propylene refrigeration compressor system, returning the unit to safely normal operating conditions. To minimize additional unit upset conditions and impacts, Operations drained exchangers, reducing the pressure of the propylene refrigeration compressor system caused by excess material in the system. In addition, Operations restored the propylene refrigeration systems to its normal operating conditions by reversing actions taken to stabilize the unit during the unit upset. An evaluation of the operating conditions of the propylene refrigeration compressor system will be performed to identify improvements which can be made to prevent future re-occurrences. If an corrective actions are identified, they will be reported in the 2013 2nd Half Semiannual Report.		2,078.4 pounds
154254

2014-03-04		OP-1
Cause: On 3/4/2014, Shell Chemical's OP-1 Unit flared process gas at the GO1 Elevated Flare due to low lube oil pressure on the process gas compressor (PGC). The main lube oil pump for the PGC had a mechanical failure and unexpectedly shutdown, resulting in the shutdown of the PCG.

Followup: Yes

Notes: Immediately, feed was safely removed from the OP-1 PGC and once the failure was identified, the feed was removed from the OP-1 furnace to repair the PGC. To prevent the recurrence of this incident, the failed mechanical components of the affected lube oil system of the PGC were repaired and the OP-1 Unit was safely restarted and returned to normal operation on 3/14/2014.