Weld Failure on Hydrogen Transmission Pipeline Causes Leak
Release from a welding of a hydrogen transmission pipeline At 12:45 pm the operation control centre (OCC) recognised that a customer flow and pressure dropped significantly. At 13:28 the OCC made the decision to close the upstream remote operated valve. At 15:00 the pipeline technician arrived on site and confirmed the breach in the pipeline. Additional pipeline operations technicians were deployed to isolate both manual block valve upstream and downstream of the incident site.
Event Date
March 7, 2022
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Cause Comments
The initial cause was the complete failure of a pipe girth weld, probably at the heat-affected zone, by hydrogen induced cracking.
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
underground pipepine, welding
Storage/Process Medium
Actual Pressure
2
Design Pressure
2
Location Type
Location description
Countryside
Operational Condition
Pre-event Summary
The pipeline had been installed in 1992. it was made of carbon steel, with a Max operating pressure of 375 psig. At the moment of the incident the pressure was 374 psig. Gas flow was 7284 mcf
Number of Fatalities
5
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Unknown
Event Nature
Emergency Action
Both manual block valve upstream and downstream of the incident site were blocked.Local and federal first responders intervened (unknwon their actions)136 thousand standard cubic feet went lost during the leak (unintentional release)
Release Amount (kg)
322.00
Release Pressure (bar)
2.60
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administraytion PHMSA:
https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/safety-reports/pipeline-failure-investigation…