An oil refinery in the northeastern German city of Schwedt has again suspended the imports of Russian fuel via the Druzhba pipeline over its poor quality, a representative of the Royal Dutch Shell company told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th July, 2019) An oil refinery in the northeastern German city of Schwedt has again suspended the imports of Russian fuel via the Druzhba pipeline over its poor quality, a representative of the Royal Dutch Shell company told the Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday.Oil refineries in eastern Germany resumed oil deliveries from Russia two weeks ago. The initial halt happened after the oil from Druzhba was found to be contaminated with chlorides.
"We are maintaining contact with the supplier and the pipeline's operators in order to clarify the causes [of the problem] and fix the issue," the Royal Dutch Shell representative said, adding that the new suspension was also linked to the high concentration of organic chlorides in the oil.
The plant continues to refine oil with the hydrocarbons it receives from the port of Rostock, the representative added.
The delivery of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline was halted in late April after it was discovered that the oil was contaminated with organic chlorides, which is damaging for oil refinery equipment. Transit has since been resumed.
An investigation into the incident was opened by 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 their crime.
