A pipeline carrying crude oil for refining developed cracks and spilt oil in about 100 acres of farmland in a village in Nagapattinam district, officials said.
They said people of Manjavadi village detected the leak after they found their farmlands flooded with oil.
The oil was being transported through pipeline from the Oil and Natural Gas Commission owned oil well at Adiyakkamangalam to Narimanam for refining, they said.
Officials said it was not clear whether the pipe had broken due to recent heavy rains or the soil becoming loose.
ONGC officials said the pipes might have got corroded due to the saline condition in the area.