BNE: Poland pushing to revive shale gas dreams

Following a long delay that has seen investors dropping out of the Polish push for shale gas, the country's new environment minister said on November 26 that a draft law to regulate exploration and extraction will be sent to the cabinet for approval before the end of the year. Poland is clearly pushing to revive it's shale gas dreams, but news is still awaited on a tax regime. 

Maciej Grabowski, who is due to be sworn in on November 27 alongside several other new cabinet appointments following a shuffle, insisted that speeding up the extraction of shale gas is a priority. Alongside disappointing test drilling results, the lack of a regulatory framework has been one of the major issues behind a severe slowdown in Polish plans for shale gas. 

"I believe that one can achieve environmental goals by tying them to economic goals in a way more friendly for investors," Grabowski told newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna. "We would like the law facilitating investment in shale to be passed as soon as possible to reduce the potential risk for investors," he said. 

However, the minister added that the law on shale gas taxes would be prepared by the finance ministry in a separate bill at a later date. In his previous job as deputy finance minister, Grabowski was in charge of that task.  MORE