Three questions about the leak detected on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany

The law of series? One of the two lines of the Druzhba pipeline, linking Russia to Germany, has been closed following a leak in Poland, the Polish operator PERN announced on Wednesday October 12. This incident comes after an alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany.

The leak occurred in Poland, near the village of Zurawice, 180 kilometers west of Warsaw. “Rescue action is underway. All services are on site,” PERN spokeswoman Katarzyna Krasinska told AFP on Wednesday. According to her, the firefighters are pumping out the oil, “which can take several hours”.
Transneft, the company in charge of Russian oil pipelines, confirmed that it was informed of the leak by the underground part. “Yes, we have received a message from the Polish company about a leak,” said Sergei Andronov, vice-president of Transneft, according to the Interfax agency. “We have no information as to the timeframe for repairing the damage (…) from the (Polish) side for the moment, the oil continues to be accepted.”
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Deliveries of Russian oil to Germany “are not interrupted”, assured for its part the German Ministry of Economy in a press release. “Security of supply in Germany is currently guaranteed.”
According to Mateusz Berger, Polish deputy minister responsible for strategic infrastructure, at least 24 hours will be needed to evacuate the oil from the cracked underground section, as well as the crude that has leaked onto the surface. “It is only after at least 24 hours that we will be able to physically see” in what state the pipeline is, he told AFP.

What are the assumptions?

Mateusz Berger declined to speculate on the reasons for the leak. “We can’t say anything for the moment. We have a small lake of oil to evacuate (…) It is only after that that we can carry out examinations”, he added. “The causes of the incident are not known at this time – pumping in the damaged line was immediately stopped. Line 2 of the pipeline is operating normally,” PERN said in a statement, adding that the leak was detected on Tuesday evening.

NATO said Tuesday that the Alliance had reinforced its naval deployments to protect its infrastructures in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. More specifically, the Atlantic Alliance has “doubled” its presence in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to “more than 30 ships”, announced the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

These ships are “supported by maritime patrol aircraft and submarine capabilities,” he said at a press conference. Military reinforcement efforts “are closely coordinated by NATO’s Maritime Command”, he added. These maritime areas include other gas pipelines linking Norway in particular to European countries, which are of critical importance. On Tuesday, G7 leaders also condemned any deliberate disruption of critical infrastructure.

Why is this pipeline at the center of a showdown with Russia?

The Druzhba pipeline, whose name means “friendship” in Russian, began to be built in the early 1960s. It now covers a network of 5500 kilometers long, and transports oil from the Urals to refineries in Poland and Germany. Another branch of Druzhba ships Russian oil to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Druzhba is the main pipeline bringing Russian oil to Germany. He is at the heart of a showdown with Russia. According to PERN, part of the main pipeline carries crude destined for two German refineries: PCK Raffinerie GmbH Schwedt and Total Raffinerie Mitteldeutschland GmbH in Spergau. The Schwedt refinery, essential for the supply of fuel and fuel oil to Berlin and its region, processes only Russian oil transported via Druzhba.

In mid-September, the subsidiaries of Rosneft in Germany, which represent 12% of the country’s oil refining capacity, were placed under “trust administration”. The subsidiaries Rosneft Germany (RDG) and the company RN Refining & Marketing (RNRM) hold shares in three major refineries in the country, including that of Schwedt.

The German Ministry of Energy indicated at the time that with this trusteeship it was a question of “responding to the risks which weigh on the security of supplies” of energy in the country, in particular before the entry into force of the European embargo on Russian oil, set for 5 December.

By taking control, Berlin wanted to prevent the refinery from being dispossessed of certain assets by its owner, or even from being liquidated, for lack of sufficient cash or Russian oil. The German government also wanted to have a free hand to emancipate itself from the Druzhba pipeline and implement other routes to supply the refinery when the embargo on Russian oil comes into force.