While the leak has been contained and no cross-border threat has been identified, authorities caution that the environmental evaluation is still in its early stages.
The accident occurred on Wednesday near Gramzow in Brandenburg, around 20 kilometres from Poland, when a malfunction during preparatory work for a scheduled valve safety test sent a column of crude oil shooting more than 20 metres into the air.
Two employees of the nearby PCK refinery in Schwedt were injured.
According to refinery representatives, more than 200,000 litres of oil escaped before emergency teams brought the situation under control.
Crews managed to significantly reduce the pressure and flow within the first hours, preventing the leak from spiralling further.
Full repairs to the damaged section of the pipeline took roughly ten hours.
Local fire brigades say they remain cautiously optimistic about the environmental outlook.
Heavy rainfall in recent days left the surrounding ground saturated, causing the lighter crude oil to remain on or near the surface instead of sinking deeper toward groundwater. Removal of surface oil began shortly after the spray was halted.
On Thursday morning, Adam Rudawski, governor of the region in north-western Poland along the Oder River near the German border, confirmed that the spill poses no threat to his area.
“There is no indication of leakage into the Oder. At present, no actions are required on the Polish side,” he said.
Wyciek ropy, do którego doszło w miejscowości Zehnbeck w Niemczech nie stanowi zagrożenia dla naszego województwa ani...
Opublikowany przez Adam Rudawski Środa, 10 grudnia 2025
German environmental authorities, however, stress that their work is far from finished.
Crews are now removing contaminated topsoil and installing monitoring points to track any delayed seepage.
Brandenburg’s environment ministry has dispatched specialists to evaluate long-term risks to farmland, wildlife, and local waterways.
The pipeline involved connects the port of Rostock on the Baltic Sea with the PCK refinery in Schwedt - a key supplier of fuel to Berlin, Brandenburg, and parts of western Poland.
The ministry has not ruled out the possibility that the actual volume of spilled oil may exceed the initial estimate.
Brandenburg’s environment minister, Hanka Mittelstädt, is expected to visit the site again today as investigators continue examining the cause of the malfunction and whether maintenance protocols at the valve station require revision.
Local residents have been advised that odours may persist in the area over the coming days as remediation work continues.
Authorities say the next official update will be released once laboratory analysis of soil and water samples is complete.
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Source: PR24/Facebook/rudawskiadam