Poland's Chief National Geologist has revealed that the extent of Polish shale gas deposits may not be as bountiful as previously imagined.

“The initial, optimistic estimates regarding shale gas in Poland will be significantly reduced in a new report on this subject,” Piotr Wozniak told journalists as a press conference in Washington.

Wozniak has been conducting talks in America with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The upcoming report on Polish shale gas has been jointly prepared by Poland's National Geological Institute and the USGS, and will be released on 21 March, according to Wozniak.

In recent times, shale gas had been trumpeted as a means of greater energy independence for Poland, not least in regard to the current dependence on Russian gas.

American companies have already secured concessions in the industry and are leading the test drilling in Poland,

Although Wozniak said that there was “absolutely no doubt” that there will be a reduction in the size of Poland's shale gas estimates, he stressed that preliminary work was far from finished.

He said that only 13 wells had been drilled thus far, and that only after 100 have been penetrated will more conclusive data be available.

All in all, some 130 wells will be drilled as part of the tests.

When questioned about the impact that the fracking technique of extracting shale gas will have on the environment, Wozniak claimed that the principal problem will be noise pollution.

In reference to the earthquakes that had occurred in the U.S. during shale gas extraction, he argued that threats of similar occurrences were minimal. (nh/pg)

Source: PAP



