Poland finds leak on Druzhba pipe to Germany: Update

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Polish pipeline operator Pern is investigating the cause of a leak in the northern leg of the Druzhba crude pipeline between the central Polish city of Plock and the German border. Supply to Poland's refineries has not been disrupted but capacity on the line to Germany has been reduced.

The leak was detected 70km west of Plock late on 11 October. Pern said the cause is unclear and an investigation is underway. The incident comes as concerns intensify about the security of Europe's energy infrastructure following the recent suspected sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and increased drone activity near North Sea platforms. But there has so far been no suggestion the Druzhba leak was caused deliberately. "According to initial information from the Polish authorities, it is assumed that the damage was accidental, not sabotage," the German ministry for economic affairs said. "However, the exact clarification of the facts is ongoing, so no conclusive information is available yet."

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 firm 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 and that crude supply to Germany is continuing in line with what is technically possible.

The two German refineries that receive crude via Druzhba — the 226,000 b/d Schwedt and 236,000 Leuna refineries — "continue to be supplied via line 1", said Jorg Steinbach, economy minister for the German state of Brandenburg. "Despite currently reduced capacity, product delivery is not affected, I have been told by the shareholders," he said. The German economic affairs ministry said Schwedt and Leuna have "increased their own oil stocks in recent weeks as a precautionary measure". It also pointed out that both refineries can receive seaborne crude supply via the German port of Rostock and the Polish port of Gdansk.

Pern has given no timeline for the repair work to be completed. Steinbach said "the current forecast is for maybe 2-3 days or even up to 10 days".

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