Poland late Saturday halted shipping oil through part of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to Europe, after a leak was detected, Polish pipeline operator PERN said.
The incident comes amid heightened concerns about the security of Europe’s energy infrastructure after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and following attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Europe.
The leak was detected in the municipality of Chodecz in central Poland on “one of the two lines of the western section through which oil reaches Germany,” PERN said in a statement. The damaged line was “immediately shut down,” it said.
The second line is operating without any changes and the incident does not pose a threat to the health of local residents, according to the statement.
Supply to Polish refineries is not impacted, PERN said, adding on social media that it is in contact with German partners who receive oil through the pipeline. Germany stopped buying Russian oil in January.
“Other elements of PERN’s infrastructure, including the Pomeranian section, which is used to pump crude oil coming by tankers to Poland and then also to Germany, are operating in standard mode,” the operator said.
The company is currently investigating the causes of the leak.
“PERN services have dug into the place where the pipeline was damaged. Preparatory work is under way to repair the line,” PERN said on Sunday morning.
The Druzhba pipeline counts among the world’s largest. It currently carries 1.2 million barrels to 1.4 million barrels a day, but can increase that to 2 million.
