Poland is looking into the causes behind the Druzhba pipeline leak, Poland's Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment said on Wednesday (October 12), Reuters reports.
"We are analysing this situation right now," Adam Guibourge-Czetwertynski said as he arrived at the EU's energy ministers meeting in Prague.
"All the services are on the spot, including firemen and security services," he added
Polish pipeline operator PERN detected a leak on Tuesday evening (October 11) in one line of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries oil from Russia to Europe, it said on Wednesday.
PERN said at this point the causes of the leak are unknown. It was detected in a section of the pipe around 70 kilometres from the central Polish city of Plock.
A leak in Poland on the Druzhba pipeline from Russia reduced the flow of oil to Germany, the operator of the pipeline in Poland said on Wednesday (October 12) while Polish refineries are unaffected.
A spokeswoman for operator PERN said the leak was detected on Tuesday (October 11) evening in a section of the pipeline close to the city of Plock.
Polish refineries are receiving oil as scheduled, the spokeswoman said, adding that "oil transfer to Germany has been secured according to our technological capabilities".
A fire service official said the leak, visible from the air as a dark patch in a cornfield, was below road level and any flammable gases were contained underground.
The Polish government said the leak was probably caused by an accident. But it came as European Union nations are seeking to wean themselves off a reliance on Russian energy in response to the invasion of Ukraine in February.
The Druzhba pipeline, whose name means "friendship" in Russian, is one of the world's largest, supplying Russian oil to much of central Europe, including Germany, Poland, Belarus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria.
