Leak on Druzhba pipeline near Płock reduced oil transfer to Germany

The discovery of the leak in the main route carrying oil to Germany comes as Europe is on high alert over its energy security in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine which has cut supplies of gas. Drone footage showed a black stain of oil from the underground pipeline spreading across farmland at the site of the leak, surrounded by fire engines and other emergency teams.

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 Płock.

Polish refineries are receiving oil as scheduled, the spokeswoman said, adding that "oil transfer to Germany has been secured according to our technological capabilities".

Germany's PCK Refinery in Schwedt said on Wednesday it was still receiving oil deliveries from the Druzhba pipeline but at reduced capacity.

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.

All potential causes of the leak were being considered, a spokesman for the Polish security services, Stanisław Żaryn, told Reuters. The top official in charge of Poland's energy infrastructure, Mateusz Berger, said it was most likely "accidental damage", adding that there was at this stage "no grounds at all" to believe that it was sabotage. Berger said the leak was located 70 km (44 miles) west of Plock, where Poland's biggest refinery owned by PKN Orlen is located. As a result, part of the pipeline's capacity towards Germany was not available, he said, adding that repairs would likely "not take long". In the evening Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said it was too early to say whether the leak was accidental damage or was caused by sabotage. "...Many steps point straight to the Kremlin, but we want to be very responsible and only then confirm our assumptions," he told Polish state-owned radio broadcaster PR3.

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 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.