Polish pipeline operator finds leak on Druzhba pipeline

Polish pipeline operator PERN discovered a leak on Saturday evening in the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to Europe. The company halted oil pumping through the pipeline. However, it did not specify the impact on supplies or when the pipeline would be repaired, Reuters reported. Oil also flows through the Druzhba pipeline to the Czech Republic, but it splits into two branches in Belarus, and the branch leading to the Czech Republic is different from the one leading to Poland.

The leak was discovered near the town of Chodecz in central Poland on one of the two pipeline lines carrying oil onward to Germany. The other line is operating as normal, and the leak did not pose a health risk to local residents, PERN added. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Firefighters and PERN emergency response teams are at the scene and securing the area.

„The other parts of PERN’s infrastructure, including the Pomeranian section (of the Druzhba pipeline), which is used to pump oil delivered to Poland by tanker and sent onward to Germany, are operating as usual,“ the company said.

The decision to build the Druzhba pipeline was made in December 1958. The pipeline is around 5500 kilometres long and begins in Russia on the eastern bank of the Volga. In Belarus, it splits into two branches – the northern one leads to Poland and Germany, while the southern one runs through Ukraine to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The pipeline has a capacity of up to one million barrels of oil per day.