Leak detected in another oil pipeline that carries energy supplies from Russia to Europe — but the Polish government has said the damage was probably accidental.
The leak was detected late Tuesday on a line of the Druzhba pipeline just over 40 miles from the Polish town of Plock, its operator PERN said on Wednesday.
The pipeline operator said the part of the pipeline affected was the main route through which crude reaches Germany.
“Here we can talk about accidental damage,” Poland’s top official in charge of energy infrastructure, Mateusz Berger, told Reuters by telephone. He said there was no reason to believe the leak was caused by sabotage.
PERN personnel and fire crews were immediately dispatched to the scene to assess the situation, secure the area and launch repair operations after the leak was identified, it said. As of Wednesday morning, PERN said the scene had been secured.
The cause of the leak is not yet known, PERN said.
The pipeline operator said other parts of the pipeline appeared to be operating normally.
“The main action (we are taking) is to pump out the liquid and locate the leak and stop it,” fire brigade spokesman Karol Kierzkowski told Polish state broadcaster TVP Info.
The leak comes as Europe faces an energy crisis in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, in which Russia cut gas supplies in response to economic sanctions.
It follows the discovery of leaks in Nord Stream pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Europe after underwater explosions last month, with the West calling the incidents “sabotage”.
Reuters Y patrick smith contributed.
