MARCH 31, 2015
MARCUS HOOK, DELAWARE COUNTY, PA
Sunoco Logistic's plant in Marcus Hook, Delaware County has another death of worker. The
site is undergoing construction to convert it from an oil refinery to an LNG storage and processing plant. They also want to export the liquids to foreign markets.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is
investigating an accident at the Sunoco Logistics plant in Marcus Hook, which
left one Sunoco contract worker dead. An OSHA spokesperson says the man worked for the engineering
firm AECOM, a contractor at the site.
An OSHA representative said federal officials are investigating. OSHA said the contractor worked for Los Angeles-based engineering and construction services firm AECOM, which has been cited for several OSHA violations in the past, according to agency records.
An OSHA representative said federal officials are investigating. OSHA said the contractor worked for Los Angeles-based engineering and construction services firm AECOM, which has been cited for several OSHA violations in the past, according to agency records.
“The worker was struck by a steel pile during pile-driving
operations,” said OSHA spokeswoman Joanna Hawkins. She added that the
federal investigation could take up to six months to complete.
The worker died from multiple blunt
force injuries after a 1200 pound steel pile fell on him. Basically the unfortunate worker was crushed to death. Most likely, the crane was lifting the steel pile and end-up falling from the crane and crushed the worker. This type of fatal injury has happened before sites across the US.
A massive construction project at Sunoco Logistic’s Marcus
Hook facility is converting the former oil refinery to an LNG natural gas storage
and processing plant.
The man, who sources say was in his 50′s, lived in New
Jersey. Calls to the worker’s employer, AECOM were not returned. But Joseph
McGinn, a spokesman for Sunoco Logistics, confirmed that an accident killed a
contract worker at the facility Monday afternoon, March 30, 2015.
In a similar case, the crane operator tested the crane before starting to
raise the pile. The crane line lost tension as the pile was lifted, causing a series of events that severed the nylon choker slings holding the pile. The pile fell, striking and crushing the victim. Here are the links to some similar accidents where the employee was crushed by falling steel piles during pile driving:
ACCIDENT
INVESTIGATION: CONSTRUCTION WORKER
STRUCK AND KILLED BY A PILE FALLING FROM A CRANE
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/04/accident-investigation-construction.html
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION:
CONSTRUCTION FOREMAN DIES AFTER STRUCK BY STEEL PILE
http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/04/accident-investigation-construction_6.html
To avoid similar deadly events, we recommend that the employee should stand clear of the pile driver as the pile is raised into the leads. Here are some other suggestions:
Employers should ensure that pile driver operators are properly trained on the safe operation of the pile driving equipment;
- Employers should ensure that pile driver operators are periodically re-evaluated on the safe operation of pile driving equipment;
- A health and safety plan based on job hazard analysis must be developed and followed;
- Employers should incorporate specific procedures when a worker is inside an excavation pit into the health and safety plan. Here, the conditions at the bottom of the pit were muddy and could have hindered the egress of the unfortunate victim
//----------------------------------//
Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. has taken ownership of the closed Marcus Hook refinery. The pipeline company has big plans for the Delaware River industrial site.
Sunoco Logistics chief executive Michael J. Hennigan
provided analysts with details Thursday about how the pipeline and terminal
company plans to repurpose the refinery as a hub for shipping liquid fuels
produced from natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica Shales.
"We plan to create a world-class natural-gas liquids
hub on the East Coast," Hennigan said.
Sunoco Logistics, based in Philadelphia, announced Wednesday
that it had acquired the refinery for $60 million from its former parent
company, Sunoco Inc. Both companies are affiliated with Energy Transfer
Partners L.P., a Texas pipeline firm that acquired Sunoco last year.
Sunoco Logistics, whose aim in its previous life was to
deliver crude oil to Sunoco's refinery network and move refined products to
market, is repositioning itself as an independent pipeline company. On
Wednesday, it reported $236 million in first-quarter earnings, a new record and
a 40 percent increase from a year ago.
The Marcus Hook refinery, which has five deepwater berths,
will become the anchor for Sunoco Logistics' Mariner East project, which will
transport natural-gas liquids like propane and butane through an existing
pipeline from Western Pennsylvania for loading onto oceangoing vessels in
Marcus Hook.
The former refinery site already has substantial storage
tanks, but the company plans to build some large refrigerated aboveground tanks
for storing ethane, which must be supercooled to remain liquid. Most of the
materials being shipped through Marcus Hook are destined for export as
ingredients in chemical manufacturing.
The Mariner East project is scheduled to go on line in late
2014, but Sunoco Logistics is already bringing propane by truck and rail to
Marcus Hook, Hennigan said.
"The Marcellus liquids today are finding their way to
the coast and we're loading ships as we speak," he said.
Demand is so high for outlets to move fuels out of the
Marcellus region that the company is planning to expand the Mariner East
project, whose capacity is constrained by the size of the 8-inch-diameter
pipeline.
The company has budgeted $600 million to complete the Marcus
Hook connection as well as a second project, Mariner West, which is converting
an existing pipeline to transport natural-gas liquids from Western Pennsylvania
to Ontario.
The Mariner projects are in competition with other companies
that want to build or convert pipelines from the Marcellus region in Appalachia
to the Gulf Coast. Hennigan said he believes much of the material is destined
for export, so it makes more sense to transport it to port by the shorter
Keystone State route.
"Our view is that traveling 300 miles is much more
competitive than traveling all the way down to the Gulf Coast to achieve the
same end result of meeting the exports," he said.
//---------------------------//
Sunoco Logistics'
expansion of its pipeline system moving propane, butane and other liquids from
shale wells to the East Coast will pump $4.2 billion into the state's economy
and support 30,000 jobs during construction, a company commissioned study
found.
About half those
jobs are linked directly to construction of the $3 billion, 350-mile Mariner
East 2, a 16-inch pipeline Sunoco Logistics plans to build nearly paralleling
its existing 8-inch Mariner East 1, according to the impact study released
Thursday by Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions. The pipeline and converted
refinery at Sunoco Logistics' Marcus Hook terminal outside Philadelphia will
employ 300 to 400 workers on a more permanent basis once construction wraps up
in 2017, the report said.
“You just don't see
companies investing $3 billion on capital projects in Pennsylvania every day,”
said Stephen P. Mullin, president and principal at Econsult.
Most of the economic
impacts will be felt in the Philadelphia region in the conversion of the
terminal, though Marcellus and Utica shale gas producers clustered in Western
Pennsylvania are looking forward to moving more lucrative liquids from their
wells to the terminal. Low natural gas and oil prices have prompted companies
to slow their drilling as they look for new demand sources and pipelines.
Construction on
Mariner East 2 includes lines linking Ohio, West Virginia and Washington County
facilities to the mainline in Delmont.
“This will mean more
growth here, in terms of well pads, compressors, all the related work. We see
it as a positive, long-term benefit,” said Jim Kunz, business manager for the
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66, which has 7,000 members in
33 counties.
Last year, more than
20 percent of the local's work was connected to the natural gas industry, Kunz
said.
Econsult's report
estimated about half of the pipeline's engineering will be done by Pennsylvania
firms and 25 percent of its steel will come from in-state plants. Construction
will generate an estimated $62 million in taxes to the state from workers
directly employed by its projects and from related businesses, the report
found.
The project includes
at least three propane distribution points along the pipeline before it reaches
Marcus Hook. The impact study said Mariner East could help stabilize volatile
propane prices.
Sunoco Logistics is
seeking state and federal permits for the pipeline and holding community
meetings along the route, where some groups have started raising opposition.
The state Public Utility Commission ruled the company and pipeline qualify as a
public utility with eminent domain power.
//--------------------------//
Marcus
Hook Industrial Complex
The Marcus Hook
Industrial Complex, located primarily in Marcus Hook PA, on the banks of the
Delaware River near Philadelphia, PA is a LPG, refined products and crude
terminal as well as a fully functioning process complex. There are
approximately 2 million barrels of NGL storage capacity in underground
caverns, and related commercial agreements. The facility can receive NGLs via
marine vessel, pipeline, truck and rail, and can deliver via marine vessel,
pipeline and truck. In addition to providing NGL storage and terminalling
services to both affiliates and third-party customers, we also provide our
customers with the use of industrial space and equipment at the facility, as well
as logistical, utility and infrastructure services.
Mariner East 1 and Mariner East 2 are pipeline projects to deliver NGLs from the Marcellus and Utica Shale areas in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Eastern Ohio to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex. Mariner East 1 commenced initial operations in the fourth quarter 2014. Mariner East 2 is expected to commence operations in the fourth quarter 2016.
LPG
The Mariner East 1
and Mariner East 2 pipelines will terminate in the MHIC. In addition to the cavern
storage, there will be refrigerated ethane and propane storage. High capacity
loading rates of 16,000 to 24,000 bph will allow ship loading up of VLGC’s.
In addition, there
are truck, rail and pipeline connectivity to local refiners.
Products
The terminal has the
capability to receive, store, blend, and distribute: crude oil, gasoline,
gasoline components, Naphtha, ULSD, jet fuel, and has the capability to
distribute chemicals. The docks match the Delaware River capacity with drafts
up to 40 feet and can accommodate vessels as large as a VLCC tanker.
The Marcus Hook
Industrial Complex can receive and deliver products to a number of third party
pipelines including:
·
Laurel
Pipeline – Outbound
·
Sunoco
Pipeline – Inbound & Outbound
·
Teppco
Pipeline – Inbound & Outbound
·
Refinery
Connected pipelines – Trainer, Delaware City, Philadelphia
The MHIC terminal can
access the following markets:
·
Philadelphia
and Southern NJ area via truck rack
·
PA
/ NY terminals via Sunoco Pipeline, Laurel Pipeline
·
New
York Harbor and Northern NJ terminals via pipelines (East Line), ship, and
barge
·
Baltimore
via ship or barge
·
New
England via ship or barge
·
European
and other overseas export markets via ship
Processing Complex
There are several
tenants on site utilizing steam, flare, fuel gas, WWT, air, water and other
utilities and services. The tenants include fractionation, conversion, and
blending operations for a variety of products – including Sunoco Race fuels and
power to the grid.
Our Inkster terminal,
located near Detroit, Michigan, consists of eight salt caverns and can receive
and ship LPGs. We use the Inkster Terminal’s storage in connection with our
Toledo, Ohio to Sarnia, Canada pipeline system and for the storage of LPGs from
Canada and a refinery in Toledo.
//---------------------------//
NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) Projects
Project Mariner East Phase I
Project Mariner East
is pipeline project to deliver propane and ethane from the liquid-rich
Marcellus Shale areas in Western Pennsylvania to the Marcus Hook facility, where
it will be processed, stored, and distributed to various domestic and
waterborne markets.
The project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 70,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner East commenced initial operations in the fourth quarter 2014. Mariner East is scheduled to be fully operational to deliver propane and ethane in Mid-2015.
The project is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 70,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner East commenced initial operations in the fourth quarter 2014. Mariner East is scheduled to be fully operational to deliver propane and ethane in Mid-2015.
Sunoco Logistics
will construct a pipeline from MarkWest Energy Partners L.P.'s Houston,
Pennsylvania processing and fractionation complex to an interconnection with an
existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline at Delmont, Pennsylvania. The natural gas
liquids will then be transported to the Marcus Hook facility where Sunoco Logistics
will construct new facilities to process, store, chill, and distribute propane
and ethane to local, regional and international markets.
Sunoco Logistics
announced a successful Open Season for Mariner East 2 project in November
2014. For Mariner East 2, Sunoco Logistics plans to construct a pipeline
from processing and fractionation complexes in Western Pennsylvania, West
Virginia and Eastern Ohio for transport to the Marcus Hook Industrial
Complex. Sunoco Logistics plans to construct new facilities at Marcus
Hook Industrial Complex to store, chill, process and distribute propane, butane
and ethane for distribution to local, domestic and international markets.
Sunoco Logistics plans to offer intrastate and interstate movements to meet the
demands of various markets. Mariner East 2 will expand the total
takeaway capacity to 345,000 barrels per day. The Mariner East 2
pipeline is expected to be operational in Q4 2016, subject to regulatory and
permit approvals.
Project Mariner West
is a pipeline project to deliver ethane from the liquid-rich Marcellus Shale
processing and fractionation areas in Western Pennsylvania to the Sarnia,
Ontario petrochemical market. The project is anticipated to have an initial
capacity to transport up to 50,000 barrels per day of ethane and can be scaled
to support higher volumes as needed. Mariner West commenced operations in Q4
2013.
Project Mariner South
Mariner South
Pipeline is a pipeline project to transport export grade propane and butane
from Lone Star’s storage and fractionation complex in Mont Belvieu, Texas to
Sunoco Logistics’ terminal in Nederland, Texas.
In addition to export grade propane and butane, the pipeline will be available for other natural gas liquids and petroleum products depending on shipper interest. The pipeline is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 200,000 barrels per day and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. The pipeline commenced operations at end of 2014. It is expected to ramp up to full capacity by 2Q15.
In addition to export grade propane and butane, the pipeline will be available for other natural gas liquids and petroleum products depending on shipper interest. The pipeline is anticipated to have an initial capacity to transport approximately 200,000 barrels per day and can be scaled to support higher volumes as needed. The pipeline commenced operations at end of 2014. It is expected to ramp up to full capacity by 2Q15.