Poland reported fuel leakage at Druzhba oil pipeline

In western Poland, there was a fuel leak on a section of the Druzhba pipeline. This was reported on Sunday, December 1, by Martin Halasz, spokesman for the branch of the State Fire Service in the Wielkopolskie Voivodeship.

"During the investigation it was found that there was a spill of a substance similar to oil in the field. The Druzhba pipeline may be running in the area. <...> [Polish pipeline operator PERN] preventively shut down one of the pumping substations," he said.

PERN 's press office said a leakage of crude was detected on one of the two strings of the western section, which carries crude oil to a refinery in Germany.

"Pumping on the damaged line was immediately stopped, and oil deliveries continue on the second line, the technical capabilities of which fully meet the volumetric needs of customers," it specified. The causes of the incident are currently unknown and will be investigated by PERN's internal committee.

Back in June 2023, Serbian and Hungarian authorities signed a memorandum on the construction of the pipeline. The oil pipeline is expected to be connected to Druzhba on Hungarian territory. The relevant agreement was signed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic.

Earlier, in August, the head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Ukraine was going to stop the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, through which Russian oil is transited to the European Union.

Then, on September 2, Szijjártó said that the country would not survive without Russian oil supplies, and Kiev's decision to stop its transit is a serious challenge for Budapest.

The Druzhba pipeline runs through Russia to the Belarusian city of Mozyr. Then it branches into two strings: the northern one to Poland and Germany, and the southern one through Ukraine to Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia.