Germany confirms stoppages on Druzhba oil pipeline UPDATE

(Updates with comments from economy minister, oil supply federation)

BERLIN (AFX) - The German Economy Ministry confirmed on that there had been stoppages on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Germany and Poland.

'I can confirm that the Druzhba pipeline has been closed,' a ministry spokesman told a regular news briefing here, but insisted that the reasons behind the closure were not yet clear.

The pipeline, which supplies 23.4 mln tonnes of crude oil to Germany each year, had already been closed once, a year ago, owing to technical problems, the spokesman said.

'We assume that the refineries have reserves and also have the opportunity to import oil products beyond that,' he said.

'We're talking to the companies, the federations and the Polish government,' the spokesman added.

Economy Minister Michael Glos subsequently issued a statement in which he expressed 'concern' about the closure, even if the situation was not yet 'dramatic' with regard to Germany's oil supplies.

'I view the closure of the important Druzhba pipeline with concern,' Glos said.

'I expect deliveries via the pipeline to be fully resumed as quickly as possible.'

Glos said that the development 'shows once again that a balanced energy mix is imperative' for secure energy supply 'and that one-side dependencies must not be allowed to develop.'

Nevertheless, Glos insisted that 'the current situation is not dramatic for Germany. There are sufficient reserves of crude oil at the refineries to ensure supplies even if there a long gaps in deliveries.'

The MWV oil supply federation said in a separate statement issued in Hamburg that 'there have been limited pump interruptions on the Druzhba pipeline in recent days.'

The pipeline supplies the PCK Schwedt refinery and the MIDER Total refinery near Leuna in eastern Germany.

'The running of the refineries is currently not affected,' MWV said.

'Nevertheless, as a precautionary move, alternative routes of supply for crude oil are being drawn up, for example, via the port of Rostock.'

Supplies to consumers were not in jeopardy, MWV insisted.

'There is a crisis system in place to offset any interruption in supply.'

A spokeswoman for Total in Berlin said that supplies had stopped overnight.

'But supplies to customers has been safeguarded and the refineries are functioning.'

She also said the reasons for the stoppage were not yet clear, but insisted that the refineries had sufficient reserves, even if she declined to say how long those reserves might last.

'We're working on an alternative supply if that should become necessary,' she said. [e-mail] afp/jfb/jsa COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited