Shale Gas May Heat Polish Homes Next Winter

First shale gas delivery to local customers in Northern Poland may be possible this year.

According to the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Poland's state-controlled gas firm PGNiG may makes deliveries of the first shale gas from its test well in Pomerania as soon as in the second half of 2012.

The daily reports, that the company is in talks with distributor G.EN Gaz Energia S.A., a subsidiary of Germany's VNG Werbundnetz Gas AG, to transport gas from the test well in Lubocino to local customers.

Upwards of 3,500 local customers living in villages in the area of Zarnowieckie Lake may be supplied, depending on test production volume.  Though the number of customers is small on a national scale, the deliveries would mark a milestone achievement for the leading proponent of shale gas developmenr in Europe.

PGNiG is one of several companies, that expect production tests to start this or next year.

DGP estimates,that even in a testing stage, gas from shale in Poland may be cheaper than imported from Russia.

Before September elections in Poland  the then deputy Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski, quoted by the Wall Street Journal said: “The primary goal of market regulation will be to make sure there’s a competitive price for the resource produced and offered to local customers”.

Promoted to the Minister of Treasury, after the election, Mikolaj Budzanowski recently said, that the production scale should be reached in 2015 at the latest. 

In order to meet this objective, state-controlled energy companies, including utilities are being directed to join forces in the search for shale gas.