Poland Received 1Mln Tonnes Of Contaminated Russian Oil Through Druzhba - Government

Poland believes that it had received 1 million tonnes of chlorides-contaminated Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, Petr Naimsky, the Polish government's representative for energy infrastructure, said on Wednesday

WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th June, 2019) Poland believes that it had received 1 million tonnes of chlorides-contaminated Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, Petr Naimsky, the Polish government's representative for energy infrastructure, said on Wednesday.

The delivery of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Eastern Europe, including Poland, was halted in late April after it was discovered that the oil was contaminated with organic chloride, which is damaging for oil refineries' equipment. The transit of oil to Poland was restored in early June, while several other countries started receiving the oil back in May.

"A dispute about the volume of contaminated oil is going on. Poland assesses it at around 1 million tonnes. Russians say that it is less because Poland started mixing contaminated oil with clean oil.

But what else could we do to enable refining?" Naimsky told reporters.

Poland may seek compensation for the losses it suffered in court, the Polish official added.

"Talks about the volume of compensation will continue. The problem has been solved at the technical level, but at the trade level, we have not agreed on compensation. Either an amicable agreement will be reached or the case will end up in court," Naimsky specified.

An investigation into the incident was opened in Russia. According to preliminary results, the contaminated oil was poured into the pipeline by a group of individuals who had stolen around 1 million rubles ($15,600) worth of pure oil and wanted to cover up the crime.