Page 13 - FSUOGM Week 40 2022

FSUOGM PIPELINES & TRANSPORT FSUOGM

Caption Caption
Caption Caption
Caption Caption

Poland reports leak at Russian Druzhba

oil pipeline

XXXX POLAND detected a leak along the Russian The leak occurred 70 km west of Plock, the
Druzhba oil pipeline system on October 11, but location of Poland’s largest oil refinery, run by
has ruled out sabotage as a cause. state-owned PKN Orlen, which has confirmed
XXX The incident occurs weeks after multiple that deliveries to its plant have not been affected.
leaks were discovered along the Nord Stream 1 The official noted that the repairs would likely
and 2 gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany, “not take long.”
prompting another spike in energy prices. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
Authorities across Europe are investigating the offered a less conclusive explanation, stating in
matter, and there is a widespread consensus that an evening address on October 11 that “many
the pipelines were intentionally destroyed. steps point to the Kremlin, but we want to be
Polish oil transport operator PERN found a very responsible and only then confirm our
leak at one of the Druzhba pipelines that deliv- assumptions.”
ers Russian crude oil to Germany. Footage from Druzhba, the largest oil pipeline system in
drones shows oil from the underground pipe- the world, delivers Russian crude to most of
line spread across farmland, with the area sur- Central Europe, including Germany, Poland,
rounded by fire engines and other emergency Belarus, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic
services. and Austria. Its two pipelines that carry oil from
“Security of supply in Germany is currently central Poland to Germany have a combined
guaranteed,” a spokesperson for the country’s capacity of 27mn tonnes per year (540,000 bar-
economy ministry told Reuters. “The refineries rels per day).
in Schwedt and Leuna continue to receive crude Germany is striving to eliminate Russian oil
oil via the Druzhba pipeline.” imports by the end of the year, despite the fact
The Schwedt refinery, which provides 90% of that the country relied on Russia to supply close
the fuel in Berlin, has gained attention in recent to a third of its crude last year. It is negotiating
months because of a significant shareholder in with Kazakhstan on obtaining alternative sup-
the plant, Russia’s Rosneft. The German govern- plies to the Schwedt plant. This supply would
ment in late September placed all of Rosneft’s arrive either via the German port of Rostock
refining interests under state trusteeship, argu- or the Polish port of Gdansk. The latter option
ing that the step was necessary to shore up the requires further talks with Polish authorities.
country’s energy security. Amid concerns about the future operation of
While all potential causes of the leak were the Schwedt refinery following the loss of Rus-
being investigated, a top official overseeing sian oil, the government has pledged to invest
Poland’s energy infrastructure told Reuters that €825mn over the next 15 years in the plant and
it was most likely “accidental damage” and that the surrounding region. Local authorities have
there was “no grounds at all” to consider that it suggested it could be converted into a “green
was sabotage. refinery." ™

Week 41 15•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P13