MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - A pipeline leak in southern France has led to several thousand cubic meters of crude oil spilling into fields, the local fire department said on Friday.
The pipeline is operated by the Societe du Pipeline Sud-Europeen (SPSE), which says on its website it supplies refineries and a petrochemical plant in France, Switzerland and Germany.
A spokeswoman for SPSE said there would be no halt in supplies to clients.
"We are able to keep supplying all our clients," she said, as the company had alternative pipeline networks at its disposal.
The fire department said about two hectares of fields close to the town of Saint-Martin-de-Crau had been polluted by crude.
"It is crude oil so there is no critical risk of fire," a spokesman said.
The leak occurred at about 8.30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. EDT) and as soon as it was detected a 20-km stretch of pipeline was shut off. The fire department said clean-up operations led by SPSE would start soon.
On its website, SPSE lists shareholders including France's Total, U.S. firm ExxonMobil and Britain's BP.
(Reporting by Jean-Francois Rosnoblet, Mathilde Cru and Estelle Shirbon; editing by Sue Thomas)
