Romanian authorities are reportedly investigating a potential case of Russian sabotage involving the deliberate contamination of Azerbaijani crude oil intended for OMV Petrom’s Petrobrazi refinery, G4media.ro reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The oil shipment, transported via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey before being shipped to Romania, was found to contain dangerously high levels of chlorine. According to the report, the contamination could have caused severe corrosion to refinery infrastructure and triggered a national fuel supply crisis.

The Ministry of Energy declared a crisis-level emergency in crude oil supply on August 4, activating Romania’s strategic reserves and authorising the release of tens of thousands of tonnes of oil and diesel from national emergency stocks to ensure continuity of supply.

OMV Petrom confirmed in a press release that the contamination was identified during routine quality checks. BTC Pipeline Company, operator of the 1,700-kilometre Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, also confirmed the incident, which affected several terminal storage tanks with a corrosive substance. As a result, scheduled deliveries to the Port of Constanța were cancelled, creating a temporary shortage at the Petrobrazi refinery.

Sources cited by G4media.ro claim the contamination may have been carried out by injecting chlorine into the pipeline – an operation that could be executed with a relatively small number of tanker loads, potentially constituting a hybrid warfare tactic by Russia.

Contaminated oil from the same batch also reached other European countries. Italian energy company ENI confirmed to Reuters that one of its refineries had received compromised crude. Czech company Orlen Unipetrol, which was due to process the same oil, halted operations to prevent potential damage.

Romanian authorities have not publicly confirmed the identity of those responsible, but security sources cited in local media describe the event as consistent with previous patterns of hostile energy-related sabotage.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: OMV Petrom)