WARSAW | One of the two lines of the Druzhba oil pipeline, linking Russia to Germany, has been closed following a leak in Poland, the Polish operator PERN announced on Wednesday, Berlin indicating for its part that the deliveries of oil were continuing.
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“The causes of the incident are not known at this time – the pumping in the damaged line was immediately stopped. Line 2 of the pipeline is operating normally,” PERN said in a statement, adding that the leak was detected on Tuesday evening.
Deliveries of Russian oil to Germany “are not interrupted”, assured for its part the German Ministry of Economy.
“Security of supply in Germany is currently guaranteed. (…) These deliveries are not interrupted”, he indicated in a press release.
According to the Polish deputy minister responsible for strategic infrastructure, at least 24 hours will be needed to evacuate the oil from the cracked underground section, as well as the crude that has leaked on the surface.
“It is only after 24 hours minimum that we will be able to physically see” in what state the pipeline is, Mateusz Berger told AFP.
He declined to speculate on the reasons for the leak.
“We can’t say anything at the moment. We have a small lake of oil to evacuate (…) It is only after that we can carry out examinations, ”he added.
This incident comes after an alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany.
Druzhba is the main pipeline bringing Russian oil to Germany and is at the heart of a standoff with Russia.
According to PERN, this part of the main pipeline carries crude destined for two German refineries: PCK Raffinerie GmbH Schwedt and Total Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH in Spergau.
The Schwedt refinery, essential for the supply of fuel and fuel oil to Berlin and its region, processes only Russian oil transported via Druzhba.
In mid-September, Rosneft’s subsidiaries in Germany, which account for 12% of that country’s oil refining capacity, were placed under “trust administration”.
The subsidiaries Rosneft Germany (RDG) and the company RN Refining & Marketing (RNRM) hold shares in three major refineries in the country, including that of Schwedt.
The German Ministry of Energy indicated at the time that with this trusteeship it was a question of “responding to the risks which weigh on the security of supplies” of energy in the country, in particular before the entry into force of the European embargo on Russian oil, set for 5 December.
The leak occurred near the village of Zurawice 180 km west of Warsaw.
“Rescue action is underway. All services are on site,” PERN spokeswoman Katarzyna Krasinska told AFP. According to her, the firefighters are pumping out the oil, “which can take several hours”.
Transneft, the company in charge of Russian oil pipelines, confirmed that it was informed of the leak by the underground part.
“Yes, we have received a message from the Polish company about a leak,” said Sergei Andronov, Transneft’s vice-president, according to the Interfax agency, “we have no information about the deadlines for repair of the damage (…) on the side (Polish editor’s note) for the moment, the oil continues to be accepted”.
The Druzhba pipeline, whose name means “friendship”, began to be built in the early 1960s and today stretches over a network of 5,500 kilometers in length, transporting oil from the Urals to the refineries in Poland, Germany.
Another branch of Druzhba ships Russian oil to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
NATO said on Tuesday that the alliance had increased its naval deployments to protect its infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
On Tuesday, G7 leaders condemned any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure.