Mobil Oil Corp. blames a natural gas liquids pipeline flange negligently left open for an Oct. 19, 1994, explosion and fire at its Torrance, Calif., refinery that injured 28 persons.
The open flange on the 6 in. line leaked light ends, forming a vapor cloud that ignited. Mobil found serious violations of the refinery's lockout/tagout procedure and fired or disciplined five of its employees for failing to check the system thoroughly prior to start-up. It blamed the "root cause" on a subcontractor, IST Mechanical Corp., Carson, Calif. Mobil claims IST employees removed isolation blinds, unlocked three isolation block valves, and "should have completed a thorough inspection" after rerouting the line to a drying device. IST disagreed with certain Mobil conclusions but withheld specifics pending its investigation.
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
Issue date: 12/26/94
