Inspection Detail

Inspection: 521219.015 - Bp America Production Company

Inspection Information - Office: Englewood

Investigation Summary

On June 25, 2012, an employee was in charge of setting the valves for a pipeline pigging operations. The crew was filling a pig launcher and over three miles of a 16-in. gas line with nitrogen to purge the line and prepare to launch a smart pig. The employee was responsible for checking the two gauges installed on the launcher and for checking for leaks in the pipe supplying the nitrogen to the launcher. No one ever saw the gauges move. The ball valve leading to the pipe was not opened. No one watched the gauges continuously and no one saw them top out and fail. The pump truck supplying the nitrogen to purge the line was of a capacity which could frac wells miles deep. The supervisor for the truck had the truck pumping for a couple of minutes at 3000 cfm. The truck then stalled and had to be restarted. A quick glance at the gauges seemed to still read 0. The supervisor gave a signal and had the operator kick the pressure up to 5000 cfm. The pig launcher ruptured and sent most of the launcher about 900 feet away. The employee was struck on the upper body and was killed instantly. The pump truck supervisor had walked away toward his truck and was struck in both legs by the black pipe, resulting in several operations and months off work. The supervisor for the crew there to load the pigs was helping in the sniffing of the lines and was also struck resulting in broken jaw, shoulder, ribs, and was hospitalized for a lengthy period.

Keywords:compressed gas, explosion, flying object, leg, rib, shoulder, struck by