Poland the second Norway?

Drilling commencing next week will help to determine how much shale gas Poland may hold.

“Drilling is to begin next week, but shale gas is already revolutionizing the global gas market,” said Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. “In ten-fifteen years Poland has a chance to become second Norway."

Earlier today, Dow Jones reported European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso as commenting that it is still too soon to know what role unconventional natural gas will be able to play in the European Union's energy mix.

"It is too soon to have a complete assessment, that is why we are now gathering information and experience," Barroso said during a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk after the two met in Brussels. "The results of these assessments will determine the future role of unconventional gas in Europe," Barroso said.

American estimates show that shale gas reserves in Poland amount to a minimum 1.5 trillion cubic meters. Poland’s top geologist Henryk Jezierski believes, however, that it will take up to five years to find out how big the reserves are. It will then take between 10 to 15 years for extracting the gas to begin.

Source: thenews.pl