About 200,000 litres of crude oil burst from the pipeline on Wednesday during the accident, which occurred during preparations for safety tests on the pipeline, according to a spokeswoman for the PCK refinery.

An area covering roughly two hectares was contaminated by the spill, but damp conditions kept the oil from seeping deep into the soil and local environmental authorities said groundwater and nearby streams are likely unaffected.

PCK's operations are not impacted for the moment, as oil storage facilities at the refinery are full and the facility also sources crude oil from other suppliers, according to Brandenburg environment minister Daniel Keller, who visited the site of the spill on Thursday.

The pipeline was undamaged in the accident, and preparations to restart the pipeline can proceed even as cleanup work continues, according to the PCK spokeswoman.

The refinery, which sits near Germany's border with Poland, is majority-owned by the German subsidiary of Russian oil giant Rosneft but is now managed through a German government trusteeship.

The German government placed the Russian energy giant's German assets in trusteeship in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and continues to manage the refinery and other assets while searching for a long-term solution.

According to authorities, two safety bolts on a valve station came loose during work on Wednesday afternoon, allowing the high-pressure crude oil inside the pipeline to escape.

Two workers were sprayed with oil and received outpatient medical treatment. The leak was sealed in the evening after about two and a half hours.

Police have launched an investigation on allegations of negligent soil and water pollution.

The area around the spill site has been cordoned off and work hauling away oil-contaminated soil is expected to take several days, Karina Doerk, the local district administrator, told regional public broadcaster rbb.

bur-bst/gv

ROSNEFT