diff --git a/src/database/oracle/dbi.pm b/src/database/oracle/dbi.pm
index 8202f5eb6..2c2c2db29 100644
--- a/src/database/oracle/dbi.pm
+++ b/src/database/oracle/dbi.pm
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ use strict;
 use warnings;
 use POSIX qw(:signal_h);
 
+BEGIN {
+    # ORACLE_HOME environment variable must be defined
+    $ENV{'ORACLE_HOME'} = '' unless $ENV{'ORACLE_HOME'};
+}
+
 sub connect_oracle {
     my ($self, %options) = @_;