WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish pipeline operator PERN said on Tuesday that it had restored the Druzhba oil pipeline to full functionality as expected, after a leak had been discovered.
PERN halted pumping through a section of the pipeline, which connects Russia to Europe, after detecting a leak in central Poland on Saturday.
The operator said on Sunday there was no indication that a third party had caused the leak, which follows a series of attacks on pipelines carrying Russian oil and gas since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“PERN’s technical services restored full functionality of the damaged pipeline on Monday evening,” the operator said in a statement. “Now the company’s focus will focus on clearing the area and restoring it to its proper condition.”
Germany, which receives supplies through the pipeline, stopped buying Russian oil in January, but German media have reported that Kazakh oil was being imported through the line.
The Druzhba oil pipeline is one of the world’s largest and can carry 2 million barrels per day. The total capacity of the western section of both lines that carry oil from central Poland to Germany is 27 million tonnes of crude oil per year.
Flows through the Druzhba pipeline have dropped sharply since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pipeline infrastructure has been hit several times since then in attacks that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. Ukraine has not acknowledged the attacks.
Europe has been on high alert over the security of its energy infrastructure since major leaks were found in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines running from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea in September.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Editing by Louise Heavens)
