Polish Government Sees Big Role for State Companies in Shale

Polish Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski has said that he expects to see Polish-run energy companies taking a big role in shale exploration and production in the country in the next few years.

"The next two years will undoubtedly be a time of huge engagement by our companies (in shale gas exploration), mainly PGNiG, PKN Orlen and Lotos," Reuters reports the Minister as saying."We can in real terms think of the first shale gas extraction, on a small scale, in 2014, 2015 at the latest."

Budzanowski said that the Polish companies involved should drill about 12 wells a year and perform 12 hydraulic fracture operations every year.

The minister said that the shale gas could be a huge saving to the country, coming in at up to 50 per cent cheaper than current gas supplies from Russia. Currently, Poland pays $500 per thousand cubic metres of gas from Russia, he said.