US firms in race to tap huge unconventional gas reserves in Poland

2010-02-05

Poland could be sitting atop unconventional natural gas reserves (shale gas and tight gas) of a staggering 1.5-3 trillion cubic metres, representing 100-200 years of production, Henryk Jacek Jezierski, deputy environment minister and Poland’s Chief Geologist, revealed on 27 January, citing latest estimates from US gas firms prospecting for gas in the country.
Jezierski added that “all the greats of the gas industry” were looking for unconventional gas deposits in Poland, and that over the past two years a total of 44 prospecting concessions for unconventional natural gas had been issued in the country, covering 12% of its territory, mainly in the voivodships of Lubelskie, Mazowieckie, Pomorskie and Dolnoslaskie. The concession-holders include e.g. ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, or Marathon Oil. According to Jezierski, full-scale production could begin in 10-12 years. First drillings are scheduled for April.
By way of comparison, Poland’s conventional natural gas reserves are estimated at 98 billion cubic metres. However, the estimates with respect to unconventional gas deposits are initial ones and yet to be proven.
Meanwhile, FX Energy, the Nasdaq-listed oil & gas company, recently announced that it trebled gas production in Poland in the fourth quarter of last year, to 1.08 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe), following the launch of a new shaft in Roszkow near Jarocin (Wielkopolskie voivodship). As a result, the company’s total (conventional) gas production in Poland in 2009 amounted to 2.26 bcfe.