On the morning of Sunday, December 1, an oil spill from the Russian Druzhba pipeline was discovered in Poland.
As confirmed in an official statement by Ewa Sochacka-Urban, spokesperson for PERN S.A., the leak was located near the town of Pniewy, in western Poland, about 30 km from the regional capital, Poznań.
Firefighters worked on-site for over 15 hours, according to the State Fire Service in Pniewy.
The incident occurred on one of the two lines of the western section of the pipeline that delivers oil to refineries in Germany. The leak was found in a section under National Road 92.
The damaged section of the pipeline will be replaced. "Pumping on the damaged line was immediately shut down, and oil supplies continue through the second line, whose technical capacity fully meets the volume requirements of our clients," assured the spokesperson.
PERN's emergency response team and the Polish State Fire Service quickly arrived at the scene to secure the area and enable safe repairs.
The cause of the incident is currently unknown, and an internal committee at PERN will investigate. The company assures that the repairs will not affect current oil deliveries or the operation of the national road. No threats to local residents have been confirmed.
?ﾟﾚﾨ01.12.2024 od ponad 15 godzin strażacy OSP Pniewy biorą udział w działaniach przy rozszczelnionym rurociągu "PRZYJAŹŃ"...
Opublikowany przez Ochotnicza Straż Pożarna w Pniewach Niedziela, 1 grudnia 2024
PERN, which has been operating in Poland for 60 years, is the leader in oil and fuel logistics in the country, a strategic company ensuring national security. Its infrastructure includes the Druzhba pipeline, the world's largest oil transmission system.
An oil spill from the Druzhba pipeline in western Poland has been addressed without disrupting oil deliveries, confirms the operator (photo: United States Department of Energy /Public Domain)
The western section of the Druzhba pipeline, where the leak occurred in early December 2024, has an annual capacity of 27 million tons of crude oil. It connects the Raw Material Base in Miszewko Strzałkowskie in northern Poland to the MVL tank farm in Schwedt, Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany.
This section of the pipeline supplies crude oil to two German refineries: PCK Raffinerie GmbH in Schwedt and TOTAL Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH in Spergau.
Location of the incident
The oil spill occurred near the town of Pniewy, in western Poland, about 30 km from Poznań. The leak happened on one of the two lines of the western section of the Druzhba pipeline, at a point where it crosses under National Road 92.
Source: PERN/PSP Pniewy
(m p)