Offshore Technology

Daily Newsletter

08 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

PERN detects leak in Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline

The Druzhba oil pipeline has a daily capacity of two million barrels.

PERN, a Polish pipeline operator, has stopped pumping through a part of the Druzhba oil pipeline after the discovery of a leak in central Poland, reported Reuters.

The pipeline operator hopes to fix the issue and resume oil flow by 8 August 2023.

According to PERN, there was no evidence that pointed to a third party being responsible for the leak.

Since Moscow started its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there have been a number of attacks on pipelines delivering gas and oil.

"PERN services have reached the damaged section of one of the lines of the western section of the Druzhba pipeline in the commune of Chodecz," PERN said.

"It is the main line that transports crude oil from sea deliveries to the west. Repair work on the oil pipeline is currently under way. The expected time for pumping to resume is Tuesday morning."

PERN did not provide any detail about the implications of the leak for supplies to Germany.

"We are in contact with the operators of the East German refineries. The security of supply is still fully guaranteed,” a representative for the federal Economy Ministry in Berlin was quoted by the news agency as saying.

According to PERN, the second line was running normally and there was no concern for locals' health.

The Druzhba oil pipeline, which connects Russia to Europe and is claimed to be one of the biggest in the world, has a daily capacity of two million barrels.

The combined annual capacity of both lines' western segments, which transport crude oil from central Poland to Germany, is 27 million tonnes.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.