About 205,000 litres of crude oil and water has been removed from the leak site at Algester, Brisbane.

The 300km MBP, which transports oil to Calex Australia’s Lytton refinery, was closed on Saturday morning after a warning alarm alerted Santos to the leak.

Santos has shut-in the MBP and isolated the relevant section pipeline, with most surface oil recovered and storm water drains cleared.

An investigation into the cause has begun and the site of the leak will be evacuated early this week.

Santos said it had put in place alternative arrangements for trucking oil production while the pipeline was being repaired.

“The production impact is not material for Santos,” the company said.

“Santos maintains appropriate insurance coverage for these types of incidents.”

Constructed in 1964, the MBP was the first Australian pipeline built for oil transmission.