Poland detects leak on Druzhba oil pipeline to Germany

Polish pipeline operator Pern said it has detected a leak in the northern leg of the Druzhba crude pipeline between the central Polish city of Plock and the German border.

The leak was detected 70km west of Plock late on Tuesday. Pern said the cause is unclear and an investigation is underway. There is no suggestion from the company of sabotage. The incident comes as concerns intensify about the security of Europe's energy infrastructure following the recent leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and increased drone activity near North Sea platforms.

The Druzhba system supplies Russian Urals to refineries across central and eastern Europe. It splits off into two legs in Belarus, with the northern leg running through Poland into Germany and the southern leg crossing Ukraine into Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The affected section in Poland consists of two pipes. Crude transportation through the leaking one has been stopped, but the other continues to operate normally, Pern said. The section of Druzhba that transports crude to Poland's 373,000 b/d Plock and 210,000 b/d Gdansk refineries is unaffected.

Pipeline supplies are exempt from the EU's upcoming ban on Russian crude imports, but Poland and Germany have both pledged to stop taking all Russian crude.

By Tomasz Stepien