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Polish shale gas may be too hard to exploit

The geological characteristics in Poland means it may be hard for energy companies to duplicate the shale gas success in the United States, an analyst said. New drilling technologies used for shale deposits have given energy companies access to oil and gas reserves previously out of reach, putting the United States in a leadership position in terms of production of those resources. Paul Stevens, an oil analyst at London think tank Chatham House, told the New York Times it may be tough to replicate that success in Poland. “The geology has not worked out,” he was quoted as saying Tuesday. Chevron, which has headquarters in California, is one of the few energy companies still exploring the shale reserve potential in Poland. Marathon Oil, which has headquarters in Texas, gave up on its Polish shale ambitions in 2012 and Italian energy company Eni is said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Polish auditors slam government for slow pace of shale gas development

Poland’s national auditing agency this week criticized the slow place of developing the country’s shale gas industry, blaming government inefficiency. The Supreme Audit Office, or NIK, Monday issued a report warning that high hopes for establishing shale gas as a viable Polish industry by 2015 are being imperiled by “irregularities” in awarding concessions and the painfully slow establishment of a law governing the sector, Polish Radio reported. In the meantime, several foreign energy firms that came into Poland seeking to tap its shale gas potential, such as Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil and Talisman Energy, have pulled out due to mixed exploration results and the uncertain regulatory landscape. At the current rate, it will take 12 years before Poland’s shale gas potential can be properly tapped, the NIK said. “In order to carry this out, it would be desirable to have about 200 wells,” […]

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Poland’s PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Poland's PGE OKs $3.78 billion expansion of Opole coal-fired plant

Construction will begin next month on 1,800 megawatts of new coal-fired generating capacity at Poland’s Opole Power Plant, owner PGE announced this week. A statement released Thursday by the state-owned power producer said its management board had approved a program of internal financing to build two 900-megawatt generators in a $3.78 billion expansion of the Opole plant, to be designed by the French multinational Alstom. The move came two months after PGE’s former chief executive, Krzysztof Kilian, quit his job heading Poland’s biggest utility amid reports the company was being politically pressured to proceed with the expansion despite rejecting it in April as unprofitable. Now led by Marek Woszczyk, the company now says the financing will allow construction to begin as scheduled Feb. 1, with the first unit to be completed in 4 1/2 years and the second less than year later. In […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Is This the Next Major Shale Gas Producer?

I’m talking about Poland.  In an attempt to broaden its energy portfolio and wean itself off Russian natural gas, a renewed push for shale development is kicking off. As of last month, new Polish Environment Minister Maciej Grabowski has made it a personal mission to turn Poland around and remove the red tape that previously pushed out some of the biggest names in the industry.  The reversal of high coal consumption will also be at the top of the agenda. shale gas 19 In his first news conference early this month, he said, “If I decide that amendments are needed, I intend to present a final version within weeks, not months,” according to Bloomberg. He added, “Investors have been waiting for this for a very long time and they […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chevron agrees to explore Polish shale gas potential

WARSAW, Poland, Dec. 13 (UPI) — PGNiG, a Polish state-owned energy company, said it reached a deal with a Chevron subsidiary to explore for shale natural gas in southeastern Poland. State-owned Polish Petroleum and Gas Mining, known by its Polish initials PGNiG, said the deal was signed in Warsaw with Chevron Polish Energy Resources. PGNiG President Jerzy Kurella said both sides would benefit by sharing the exploration risks, including the possible costs associated with development of the shale gas reserves in southeastern Poland. "We could benefit from the experience of Chevron in the exploration and production of shale gas around the world," he said in a statement Thursday. Chevron said if the exploration effort proves successful, both sides would form a joint venture for further operations in the license areas. Neither company offered an estimate of the reserve potential in the license areas. The Polish government estimates it has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Poland Eyes Shale-Gas Boom

Poland is planning to speed up its search for shale gas to reduce its dependence on its former overlord, Russia, following the departure of several major U.S. companies from Polish gas fields. Poland is one of the most promising exploration sites for shale gas in the European Union, with enough estimated reserves to allow for decades of production. But so far only several dozen wells have been drilled, with mixed results. The process won’t be without its challenges, though. The country faces stiff opposition from environmental groups that say the hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” of rock formations releases methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere and may pollute water tables. Similar opposition in France led the country’s constitutional court to ban the process in October. Germany also looks set to shelve its plans for shale gas as its center-right and center-left parties work on a compromise agenda for their […]

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Poland, Wedded to Coal, Spurns Europe on Clean Energy Targets

BELCHATOW, Poland — They call it Poland’s biggest hole in the ground. The coal mine here is more than eight-and-a-half miles long, nearly two miles wide and as deep in parts as three football fields. Enough coal comes out of it to fuel Europe’s largest coal-fired utility plant, whose chimneys loom in the distance. “The entire world population could fit in this hole,” Tomasz Tarnowski, an administrator here, said in a bit of proud hyperbole as he led a group of reporters on a walk near a towering mound of brown coal about halfway into the mine. Poland is Europe’s coal colossus. More than 88 percent of its electricity comes from coal. Belchatow is one of its huge sources and the largest carbon emitter in Europe. (There’s no “belch” in Belchatow — it is pronounced bel-HOT-oof.) This month, a United Nations conference on climate change will be held in […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple