Poland Looks to Shale Gas Production in 2014

Speaking on the campaign trail ahead of the October 9th general election, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Sunday his country planned to begin commercial shale gas production in 2014.

Tusk hopes that Poland will be completely self reliant for its gas requirements by 2035.

Tusk said that "after years of dependence on our large neighbour, today we can say that my generation will see the day when we will be independent in the area of natural gas and we will be setting terms," Tusk said, referring to Russia.

The prime minister also insisted he had been "assured that well conducted exploration and production would not pose a danger to the environment."

"This is very important to us," he said.