Not That We Are Already Counting Our Chickens

Poland hopes that shale gas riches will set it on its path to developing a sovereign wealth fund.

The country is planning to pass laws similar to those that helped Norway build its its $570 billion nest egg from taxes on oil and gas, ownership of petroleum fields and dividends from its stake in Statoil ASA.

“In Norway oil and gas deposits allowed it to create funds that accumulate money for the future,” said Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak said. “We will also need this type of solution.”

Pawlak said commercial output of shale gas should precede passage of any laws aimed at helping Poland reap greater benefits from the resource.

“Gas should start flowing before we prepare new regulations for commercial output,” he said.

Last week 3Legs Resources announced that it discovered high gas saturations in a horizontal section of a 4,000-metre well in Lebien, in northern Poland.

Pawlak commented: “It is a breakthrough in the sense that the industry has finally spoken, and it’s not just a newspaper report.”