Part of the Druzhba oil pipeline that links Russia and Germany was shut down after the discovery of a leak in western Poland, the Polish pipeline operator PERN said Sunday, adding that supplies continued unaffected.
“On Sunday morning, a crude pipeline leak was identified near the town of Pniewy, on one of the two lines of the western section through which crude oil reaches refineries in Germany,” PERN said in a statement.
“Pumping on the damaged line was shut down immediately, and oil deliveries are continuing on the second line, whose technical capabilities fully cover the needs of customers,” PERN said.
Druzhba is one of the world’s largest pipelines with a maximum capacity of 2 million barrels per day.
PERN said the cause of the spill was being investigated by its internal committee, but reassured the public that it was not in danger.
PERN said work to replace the damaged pipeline, which was discovered in a culvert under a road, will not affect Druzhba’s oil supplies.
The Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline network was started in the 1960s and covers 5,500 kilometers (3,417 miles), pumping oil from the Urals to Europe through two main branches via Belarus and Ukraine.
Germany stopped buying Russian oil and the European Union placed an embargo on Russian oil supplies after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
But Druzhba was temporarily exempted from EU sanctions for Central European members Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which still rely on Russian energy supplies.
Druzhba was previously partly shut after similar oil leak discoveries in August 2023 and October 2022.
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