Polish Shale Estimates Will Be "Significantly Reduced" in Impending Report

As earlier reported by Natural Gas Europe, Poland's Deputy Environment Minister and chief geologist Piotr Woźniak has confirmed at the weekend that current shale gas estimates for Poland will be "significantly reduced" when a report on the matter is published later this month.

The report, prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Polish National Geological Institute, is expected to be released on 21 March. It will aim to quantify more definitely Poland's shale gas reserves.

Speaking to journalists in Washington following a meeting between the U.S. Geological Survey, the Polish National Geological Institute and the (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Woźniak confirmed that the estimates would be revised downwards.

"The initial, optimistic estimates regarding shale gas in Poland will be significantly reduced in a new report on this subject," he said.

Previous estimates of Poland's shale gas potential have put reserves at up to around 5.3 trillion cubic metres of shale gas. Lower estimates have put the amount much lower, at about 1 trillion cubic metres.

Related: Polish Shale Gas Resources May Be Significantly Lower than Previously Estimated