A leak was detected in a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Germany

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – An oil leak has been detected on a pipeline in Poland, the main route through which Russian crude reaches Germany, the Polish pipeline operator said on Wednesday.

The operator, Byrne, said it detected a leak in the Druzhba pipeline on Tuesday evening, 70 kilometers (45 miles) from the central Polish city of Blok. She said the cause of the leak was unknown.

The accident comes after leaks late last month in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea, and amid an energy crisis between Russia and the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Denmark and Sweden say natural gas pipelines have been attacked with large amounts of explosives.

The Druzhba pipeline, which in Russian means “friendship”, is one of the longest oil pipelines in the world. After leaving Russia, branches to bring in crude oil branched out to points including Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Germany.

The leak may have been the result of an accident, but officials are still investigating and looking into all possible explanations, Stanislaw Zarin, a Polish government security official, said.

“Different scenarios are possible. We’re not ruling out any of them,” he told the Associated Press.

Firefighters were working in the cornfields near the village of Zurawichi to pinpoint the exact point of the leak, according to a firefighter spokesperson, Brigadier General. Carol Kerzkowski. He told the state news station TVBinfo that nearly 400 cubic meters of leaked crude oil had been pumped, and transmission along the line had been cut off.

The German Economy Ministry said Berlin’s supply is currently safe, with two German refineries continuing to receive supplies via the Druzhba pipeline. She said that the reserves at these two refineries had increased in recent weeks, and that, if necessary, they could be supplied through the German port of Rostock and the Polish port of Gdansk.

Last year, Russia accounted for about 35% of Germany’s crude oil supply. But that percentage fell after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Germany’s focus is now on phasing out remaining supplies before the European Union’s ban on most Russian imports takes effect. An EU embargo on most Russian oil went into effect on December 5th.

A month ago, the German government took control of three refineries owned by the Russian energy company Rosneft, which account for about 12% of Germany’s oil refining capacity.