A leak in the Druzhba pipeline, through which oil flows from Russia to Europe, has been discovered in Poland. The cause is still unknown, said the Polish pipeline operator Pern.
Accordingly, the leak was reported late Tuesday evening on one of the two strands of the western section of the line around 70 kilometers from the central Polish city of Plock. This is the main line through which the crude oil flows to Germany. The refinery in Schwedt is also supplied via the Druschba pipeline. Brandenburg’s Economics Minister Jörg Steinbach said he was in contact with the question “what that means for the supply of Schwedt”.
The oil company Rosneft Germany is now taking precautions for the refinery due to the leak. Company spokesman Burkhard Woelki said: “There will be consequences. Less oil will definitely arrive.” He cannot yet say anything about the extent, as it is unclear how serious the leak is and how long a repair will take. “We are in the process of taking precautions to ensure the supply.”
According to the Polish environmental authority, the leak discovered in the Druzhba pipeline is between the towns of Boniewo and Chodecz. Representatives of the environmental authority examined the damage, and a public prosecutor was also present.
The main line of the pipeline was interrupted, but one strand of the line is still working, the spokesman said. More details about the leak are needed from Poland. The cause is unknown, said the Polish operator Pern.
According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, security of supply in Germany is guaranteed despite the damage. The Schwedt refineries in Brandenburg and Leuna in Saxony-Anhalt continued to receive crude oil via the line, a spokeswoman said
“All hypotheses are possible”
A statement from the operator said: “The pumps were switched off immediately. The other line of the oil pipeline is still in operation”. This also applies to the rest of the network. The operator’s emergency services and the fire brigade were dispatched to the site of the leak.
A chemical and environmental clean-up team is on site, a fire department spokesman told the public broadcaster TVP. The action could probably last several hours. One concentrates on pumping a petroleum-based substance from a depression in a corn field. So far, 400 cubic meters of oil have been pumped out, the pipeline has stopped and the pressure is falling. Firefighters are still trying to pinpoint the exact location of the damage.
“The cause of the leak in the Druzhba pipeline is currently under investigation. So far there is no evidence of the cause of the failure. All hypotheses are possible,” spokesman for the coordinator of intelligence services Stanislaw Zaryn wrote on Twitter.
The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline is one of the largest in the world, delivering Russian oil to several countries in Central Europe. Their pipes run partly above and partly below ground.
