Poland could seek to obtain a get-out clause in its new gas supply
agreement with Russia to take into account the possible impact of Polish shale
gas production, the favorite to become Poland's next president, Bronislaw
Komorowski, said Sunday.
Komorowski was speaking during a live debate with the other remaining
presidential candidate, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the brother of the former
president Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash in April.
Poland and Russia agreed on a new supply agreement earlier this year to
increase gas supplies from the Yamal peninsula to Poland by up to 2.2 billion
cubic meters/year until 2037, but the two have yet to sign the contract.
Komorowski said during the debate that Warsaw was eying shale gas as an
alternative to more Russian imports, the EU newsletter Euactiv reported.
"We need to conduct negotiations about natural gas and the search for
shale gas simultaneously," he said.
"If we find out that we have enough shale gas, we want to have the right
to renegotiate the deal with Russia or maybe we will step aside from it."
Poland's decisive presidential vote will take place on July 4, with
Komorowski ahead in the opinion polls.
UK-registered upstream minnow Lane Energy spudded the first-ever shale
gas exploration well in Poland earlier this month.
Poland is considered the most prospective for shale gas plays in Europe,
as companies try to replicate the success of shale gas production in the US.
Majors including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron have acquired
extensive shale gas exploration acreage in Poland over the past two years.
ConocoPhillips estimates Lane's six concessions covering 1 million acres
in the Baltic Basin region could hold many trillions of cubic feet of gas.
Despite the optimism in Poland, experts believe shale gas is unlikely to
be a game-changer for Europe. They say the geology is different and also in
the EU, explorers are likely to come up against social, environmental and
economic obstacles to wide-scale shale gas production.
Poland's annual gas consumption is around 14 Bcm and the new contract
with Gazprom would increase Russian gas imports to Poland from 8 Bcm/year to
10.2 Bcm/year.
--Stuart Elliott, stuart_elliott@platts.com
agreement with Russia to take into account the possible impact of Polish shale
gas production, the favorite to become Poland's next president, Bronislaw
Komorowski, said Sunday.
Komorowski was speaking during a live debate with the other remaining
presidential candidate, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the brother of the former
president Lech Kaczynski, who was killed in a plane crash in April.
Poland and Russia agreed on a new supply agreement earlier this year to
increase gas supplies from the Yamal peninsula to Poland by up to 2.2 billion
cubic meters/year until 2037, but the two have yet to sign the contract.
Komorowski said during the debate that Warsaw was eying shale gas as an
alternative to more Russian imports, the EU newsletter Euactiv reported.
"We need to conduct negotiations about natural gas and the search for
shale gas simultaneously," he said.
"If we find out that we have enough shale gas, we want to have the right
to renegotiate the deal with Russia or maybe we will step aside from it."
Poland's decisive presidential vote will take place on July 4, with
Komorowski ahead in the opinion polls.
UK-registered upstream minnow Lane Energy spudded the first-ever shale
gas exploration well in Poland earlier this month.
Poland is considered the most prospective for shale gas plays in Europe,
as companies try to replicate the success of shale gas production in the US.
Majors including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron have acquired
extensive shale gas exploration acreage in Poland over the past two years.
ConocoPhillips estimates Lane's six concessions covering 1 million acres
in the Baltic Basin region could hold many trillions of cubic feet of gas.
Despite the optimism in Poland, experts believe shale gas is unlikely to
be a game-changer for Europe. They say the geology is different and also in
the EU, explorers are likely to come up against social, environmental and
economic obstacles to wide-scale shale gas production.
Poland's annual gas consumption is around 14 Bcm and the new contract
with Gazprom would increase Russian gas imports to Poland from 8 Bcm/year to
10.2 Bcm/year.
--Stuart Elliott, stuart_elliott@platts.com
