Shale - No More Gas Problems?
Is Poland destined to become gas heaven? That is what the fuel industry has been talking about recently. According to the Times, Talisman Energy of Canada together with San Leon Energy of Great Britain are intending to invest nearly USD 140 million in their search for shale gas deposits in Poland. The long list of companies planning huge investments in Poland includes the supermajors and other big players – ExxonMobil, Chevron and Statoil. Since 2008, 56 licenses that permit gas exploration have been granted, according to the Environment Ministry. The information had not been made public right away until the beginning of 2010 when the consulting company Wood Mackenzie announced that Poland’s shale gas deposits may be incredibly large, about 1,4 billion cubic metres. Other estimates are as high as 3 million m3, the value of which would be an unimaginable trillion dollars. Western geologists claim that Polish shale gas deposits are the largest in Europe. They reached this promising conclusion after examining nearly 6,000 rock samples that Polish geologists had collected over the past 50 years.
Consequently, there is a chance for Poland to become not only independent of foreign gas but to be a new and very significant importer of gas to the EU. Revolutionary US technology is to speed up and aid this process. Up until now, gas was extracted from conventional, bubble-like deposits found in rocks despite the fact that deposits of this type comprise only about 10% of the world’s total gas resources. Shale contains much more gas. American scientists have been working on methods of utilising these deposits for years; the breakthrough came a few years ago when new drilling methods were introduced. After a tunnel is drilled underground, water containing sand and chemicals is then sprayed onto the rocks at extreme pressures. The mixture permeates the rocks creating a network of tiny channels through which the gas escapes and is then collected above the drilling site. Some ecologists worry that the mysterious chemicals may poison the drinking water; tests are still under way to solve the mystery. Russian giant Gazprom is concerned about the news due to the fact that Norway is a huge competitor after gas was discovered there in 1969, and now Poland may be yet another. What does the future hold for Poland? Exploration results will be known in approximately 3-4 years but according to experts there is no doubt that Poland’s gas deposits may have a huge impact on the country’s economy for years to come.
Gazeta Wyborcza
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