JANAF Pipeline Leak Near Nova Gradiška Spills 500 Cubic Metres of Oil
Croatia's JANAF says 500 m³ of crude escaped after contractors damaged the pipeline that also supplies Serbia's NIS. Flows are halted; cleanup takes 10 days.
About 500 cubic metres of crude oil, roughly 425 tonnes, leaked from the Adriatic oil pipeline (JANAF) near the village of Prvča, close to Nova Gradiška in eastern Croatia, after the line was damaged on Friday, 6 November. The operator said on Saturday evening that around 200 cubic metres had been recovered. Early unofficial reports had put the spill at about 50,000 litres, a tenth of the figure JANAF later gave.
How the pipeline was damaged
According to JANAF, the damage occurred at kilometre 88 of the Sisak–Slavonski Brod section during refurbishment work by an outside contractor, when equipment came into contact with a working machine. Responsibility will be established later. Oil transport was stopped by closing the Okučani and Lužani block stations, and the pipeline remains shut while crews dig out and collect the spilled oil, which is being returned into the system.
Health and water
JANAF said there was no danger to residents or to drinking water, though it acknowledged local concern about the smell. Croatian Waters (Hrvatske vode) said neither surface nor groundwater had been polluted. It estimated that about 6,000 square metres of unsown farmland and some 600 square metres of the bed and bank of the Mašićki stream, now dry because of drought, were contaminated, and said earth barriers would be built on the stream as a precaution.
RTL reported that more than 15 people sought medical help for headaches, nausea and breathing difficulties; the county public health institute said none were kept in hospital. Local environmental activists asked why the national public warning system had not been used. The Civil Protection Directorate said it was not needed because the consequences stayed within the company's site. Police and an environmental inspector attended the scene and their report will go to the State Attorney's Office.
Why it matters for Serbia
JANAF is the main route for crude oil to NIS's refinery in Pančevo. The company has not said how long the line will stay closed, beyond expecting the cleanup to take about ten days and repairs within days. NIS has not commented on any effect on its supplies.
Sources
- Tanjug — JANAF: 500 cubic metres of oil leaked, about 200 collected (in Serbian)
- tportal / Hina — Croatian Waters on the JANAF oil leak (in Croatian)
- Net.hr / RTL Danas — Residents sought medical help after the oil leak (in Croatian)
- Index.hr — JANAF: 500 cubic metres of oil leaked into the environment (in Croatian)
This report is written by The Serbian Review from the sources listed above; facts are attributed where they could not be independently verified. Spotted an error? See our Corrections Policy.
