May 17

Poland Is Waiting For Shale Gas

By Curve Poland, shale gas in Europe No Comments »

 

The Polish people seem to have adopted a future-oriented perspective on shale gas extraction. They generally believe shale gas to be an important natural resource to both their country and the entire region. According to a recent study conducted by SMG/KRC for PKN ORLEN, Poles are also aware of the possible environmental and economic impacts of shale gas exploration and production. Nearly 70% of all respondents believe that the process of shale gas extraction is safe for the environment, while 97% reckon that its development will lead to the creation of new jobs.

The Ministry of Environment has already issued 113 licences for the exploration and appraisal of shale gas deposits in Poland. Although operators have only been drilling in search of this type of gas for less than two years, the awareness of various shale gas-related issues turns out to be relatively high among Poles.

Extraction of gas from shale formations raises hopes of the entire country, particularly among the inhabitants of regions where shale gas is to be produced. As many as 86% of respondents believe that access to unconventional gas deposits will give Poland independence from external suppliers and, consequently, strengthen the country’s position internationally. According to the SMG/KRC polls, 88% of Poles think that shale gas extraction projects will stimulate the economic growth of regions where they will be carried out. This will be achieved primarily by creating new jobs (97%) and generating additional revenues for local budgets (91%).

A vast majority of Polish citizens believe that shale gas production is safe for the environment, and 78% do not support protests which are being staged to halt gas exploration. 60% of all Poles would not mind having a shale gas exploration project in their immediate surroundings.

While the awareness of opportunities and benefits resulting from shale gas exploration and production seems to be very high, people’s knowledge of the resource itself and the extraction methods is decidedly lower. This issue should be addressed by authorities, educational institutions and operators. A large proportion of Poles (66%), when asked to compare conventional and unconventional gas resources, are unable to name any features characteristic of shale gas, and the majority of respondents (82%) know nothing of hydraulic fracturing (the only viable method of extraction in the case of unconventional gas resources).

Even though 43% of Poles feel that they have already received sufficient information on shale gas exploration and extraction, expectations regarding further education remain high. Relevant information is expected to be provided primarily by local authorities (55%), the government (54%), scientific institutions (54%) and gas exploration companies (48%). Accordingly, the successful exploration and optimal use of recoverable resources will require transfer of knowledge between R&D centres and the exploration and extraction industry.

With a view to meeting these expectations, PKN ORLEN – Poland’s largest conglomerate – is actively involved in various initiatives aimed to develop scientific knowledge and popularise the relatively narrow field of interest related to the appraisal and exploitation of unconventional gas deposits in Poland. An example of such initiatives is the second ShaleScience conference, designed as a platform for sharing information and opinions between Polish and foreign scientists and experts with unique experience in the field. On May 16th 2012, the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw will host the second international ShaleScience conference organised by ORLEN Upstream, an ORLEN Group company specialising in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, in cooperation with American partners: Energy and Geoscience Institute – University of Utah and the Schlumberger Innovation Center, SLC, USA.

“Knowledge and innovation are the key to success. Global economic growth would be impossible without a state-of-the-art minerals production sector endowed with advanced technological solutions and able to meet the ever-changing technical, environmental and economic challenges. The unceasing search for improved or novel technologies has enabled us to exploit unconventional resources. The fact that we can take advantage of the extensive – nearly 20 years long – experience of the shale gas industry in the US and Canada guarantees reliability of the cutting-edge technologies we are planning to employ. I am absolutely certain that conferences such as ShaleScience are extremely necessary right now, at the onset of our journey towards commercial exploitation of shale gas. Not only do they provide a platform for expert debate, but also support us in the process of acquiring the much-needed know-how, which will be extremely useful in the years to come,” says Jacek Krawiec, CEO of PKN ORLEN.

This year’s edition of the ShaleScience conference is entitled “Developing the Mental Picture of Reservoir Quality and Completion Quality for Tight Shales” and will be attended by experts in geology, geophysics and petroleum engineering from all around the world, who will be discussing the nature of shale formations and the modern approach to effective extraction technologies which can be applied to gas trapped in such formations. This opportunity to exchange views with experienced international experts will contribute to know-how acquisition and help us design solutions tailored to the specific features of Polish deposits.

Source: 4-Traders

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May 03

France Could Lift Shale Gas Fracking Ban In Coming Years: Besson

By Curve France, natural gas in Europe, oil production, San Leon Energy, Shale gas in France No Comments »

France could reconsider its ban on the use of hydraulic fracturing in the exploration of shale gas if the technique can be proven to be safe, French economy minister Eric Besson said Thursday.

Speaking at the 13th International Oil Summit in Paris, Besson said the subject was not closed in France.

He said that so far, shale gas explorers had been unable to prove that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was not harmful to the environment.

“That doesn’t mean the subject is closed — it could be reopened tomorrow,” Besson said, adding that by tomorrow he meant over the next few years.

But this would only happen if operators “can prove the safety of the technique.”

France last year imposed a ban on fracking because of fears over its environmental impact.

Oil major Total was hit as it has a shale gas exploration operation in France.

Speaking at the same conference, Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said companies were looking at how to prove its safety.

“We have to improve the way we produce [shale gas],” he said.

He added that the company was looking at developing shale gas in China.

Source: Platts

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Apr 18

Britain May Become Major Global Shale Gas Producer, Alongside China And U.S.

By Curve shale gas in Europe No Comments »

 

The United Kingdom may have enough offshore shale gas to propel it into the top tier of global producers, making the country energy self-reliant, analysts have predicted.

Reserves of the hard to extract, “unconventional” gas deposits could exceed 1,000 trillion cubic feet, experts now believe, ranking the UK alongside China, the U.S. and Argentina, according to Reuters.

The news comes as a UK government report on Tuesday backed the exploration of shale gas using the controversial hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” drilling method blamed for two small earthquakes in Britain last year.

“There will be a lot more offshore shale gas and oil resources than onshore,” Nigel Smith, subsurface geologist and geophysicist at the British Geological Survey, told Reuters.

“We were pioneers in the North Sea with conventional oil and gas, and the technology has gone around the world, so why not become one in the unconventional sector,” Smith said.

He added that UK offshore reserves could be five to 10 times as high as those found onshore, enabling the UK to become energy self-sufficient.

Experts have cautioned, however, that whatever the final reserve figure is, only around 10 to 20 percent will actually be recoverable.

The use of fracking to extract shale gas is an extremely expensive and relatively new technology, pioneered in the United States and Canada over the last 20 years.

Fracking uses explosives and vast quantities of heavy “mud’ — a mixture of chemicals, dense material such as ceramic and water — to open up cracks in reservoir rocks, allowing trapped gas to escape through an oil well and reach the surface.

It has been blamed for contaminating water supplies and causing earthquakes, and it has been banned in parts of the U.S. and Canada pending further investigation.

The practice has also recently been banned in France and Bulgaria.

Despite the setbacks, engineers say Europe is poised to uncover vast reserves of shale gas that stretch across the continent.

“We have potentially huge volumes present in the subsurface — the volumes are mind-blowingly big,” Melvyn Giles, global head of unconventional gas and light tight oil at Shell, told Reuters.

“The figures appear to suggest the shale resources are so large that the question is not how much is out there, but how much can be retrieved — how much can be economically accessed in an environmentally acceptable way,” he added.

Source: Reuters via Nasdaq

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Apr 18

Shale Gas Fracking Gets Green Light in Britain

By Curve shale gas in Europe No Comments »

 

A UK government report on Tuesday backed the exploration of shale gas, which has transformed the U.S. energy market, nearly one year after temporarily banning the drilling method because it had triggered two small earthquakes in Britain.

An expert report commissioned by the government said it was safe to resume fracking, in which pressurised water and chemicals are pumped underground to open shale rocks and release trapped gas, but with tighter rules on seismic monitoring and drilling surveys.

“The risk of seismic activity associated with hydraulic fracking operations is small, and the probability of damage is extremely small. We suggest fracking can continue under our recommendations,” one of the report’s authors, the British Geological Society’s Brian Baptie, said at a briefing.

Activists on both sides of the Atlantic have lobbied politicians to ban hydraulic fracturing also on environmental concerns, including the dangers of pollution of ground water and leakage of gas into the atmosphere. The report did not address those concerns.

The energy ministry is inviting public comment on the report’s findings over the next six weeks, after which it will issue its final ruling on the future of UK shale gas exploration.

The experts published their findings after reviewing a series of post-earthquake studies published by Cuadrilla Resources, a UK firm that was forced to halt operations near Blackpool in northwest England after fracking triggered tremors in May 2011.

They also recommended the use of a “traffic light” control system, in which operations are suspended if a red light indicates seismic activity at a threshold of 0.5 or above, well below a level that could cause structural damage on the surface.

The tremors measured near Blackpool last year reached a level of around 2 .

UK engineers welcomed the report’s safety recommendations, and the “traffic light” warning system in particular.

“These proposed precautions are a good example of how to help mitigate the risk of any damage caused by seismic activity as a result of shale gas activity,” Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said in a statement.

While the experts agreed with Cuadrilla’s studies as a whole, they also said there was not enough data to confirm the company’s claim that it was unlikely similar earthquakes would recur.

Environmental group Greenpeace said the support for fracking to go ahead was “bad news”, saying hydraulic fracturing could pose a threat to efforts to diversify away from fossil fuels.

“This would … be a major blow for the British renewable energy industry, which would see investment hijacked by a new dash for gas,” Joss Garman, Greenpeace’s senior energy campaigner, said.

France, which has some of Europe’s largest shale gas reserves, last year banned the use of fracking on worries about environmental damage.

However, shale gas exploration is seen by some as a positive force in the battle against climate change since the gas releases less carbon into the atmosphere than coal when used to produce electricity.

“Provided safety standards are observed, shale gas could unlock significant new infrastructure investments, help meet our carbon reduction goals and create many new jobs around the UK,” a representative of the Confederation of British Industry said in response to the government’s fracking report.

In the UK, Cuadrilla has said its site near Blackpool had 200 trillion cubic feet of gas in place, enough to cover UK demand for generations, although experts have cast doubt on the claims.

In the United States the exploration of shale gas has pushed gas prices to 10-year lows, and companies such as Cheniere Energy are gearing up to export the excess fuel.

British gas prices would also come under increasing pressure if UK shale gas exploration were to take off, a representative of British energy supplier npower wrote on the company’s energy blog.

Source: Reuters

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Apr 11

Shale Gas Arises in France and Bulgaria

By Curve natural gas in Europe No Comments »

 

The once solid bans on fracking technology to extract shale gas in Bulgaria and France are weakening. Both countries have established committees to examine the technology and practices throughout the EU. The Bulgarian parliament has established an ad-hoc committee to examine EU practices, while the French government will examine the technology and regulations.

The closer look at the technology is not an indication of weakening environmental protection, rather it acknowledges the role shale gas can play in each country’s energy mix.

Exclusion of fracking technology only weakens a country’s energy security. Gas deposits represent an effective source for domestic energy security. Just as gas storage and network interconnectors ballooned to a key security of supply concern after the 2009 Russian-Ukraine gas dispute, shale gas is emerging as another tool in the box of energy security.

In the EU, the contribution domestically tapped shale gas will be limited in each country, so there is no panacea of independence being held in the ground; however, it is not mana we are looking for in the ground – just a little bit for boosting energy security levels, which in a time of crisis can make a significant difference.

Domestically sourced shale gas, provides two elements for security of supply. It provides another source of gas, thus reducing foreign dependence and used as a bargaining chip to reduce pricing of Russian gas. It also boosts overall energy security. Therefore, ignoring the role that shale gas plays in a country’s energy supply is not in the interests of politicians. Gas pricing is an annual concern of politicians.

Also, if a crisis occurs, there will be calls as to why shale gas was not explored and possibly exploited in the past. Providing the right regulatory and business environment becomes an action of self-preservation for smart politicians. Objections of environmentalists can be addressed for the wider public. Politicians will be able to cite other extraction and regulatory practices in other countries to demonstrate the safety of using the technology in their own backyard.

Fracking technology is not in or out in Europe. Most commentators have adjusted and are getting it right. There will be shale gas in Europe, although at mixed levels in different EU countries. It will only be a game changer in so-far that it contributes to overall energy security – at the same level as other diversified energy sourcing. Through an effective regulatory regime shale gas emerges as a useful technology to meet Europe’s growing appetite for a lower carbon fuel. As the extraction technology becomes cleaner, more transparent, and proven, older objections will drop away, and shale gas will emerge as a solid technology.

Source: Natural Gas for Europe

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Apr 11

U.S. Offers Shale Gas Advice in Warsaw

By Curve shale gas in Europe No Comments »

 

Unconventional natural gas reserves could have a substantial economic benefit if developed responsibly, a U.S. official said in Poland.

Poland has some of the richest deposits of unconventional gas, including shale, among European countries.

Robert Cekuta, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for energy and business affairs, told a delegation in Warsaw that Washington was convinced unconventional and shale gas reserves meant good things for the global energy outlook.

“Our sense is that there needs to be informed dialogue if we are to get out ahead of potential problems in unconventional gas development,” he said in a statement.

Warsaw estimates it holds as much as 3.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, lower than the 187 trillion cubic feet estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The country, however, said shale gas analysis carried out in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the country remains in position to become a major energy producer and that more drilling will likely reveal greater reserves.

“However, we also need to bear in mind the important reality that the development of unconventional natural gas, like the development or realization of other industrial or extractive processes, needs to be done carefully with due attention to potential downsides,” said Cekuta.

Source: UPI

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Mar 08

Lithuania is Planning to Buy Polish Gas Out of Spite for Russian “Gazprom”

By Curve Poland No Comments »

 

This item was published in the Baltic Review this week – it has been translated from the original:

The international energy conference on the issues of exploration, extraction and application of shale gas has been held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, this week and reported on 29 February to IA REGNUM at the press centre of the Energy Ministry.

Participating at the panel discussion the Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas stated that “the Baltic States should become a good market for the supply of Polish shale gas, which could also compete with the gas supplied by “Gazprom”.

The Minister has also touched the pricing of the shale gas. He says, “if we consider the prices of shale gas in the USA and price similarly” then Polish gas “could compete with the ‘Gazprom’ gas”.

It should be remembered that the Lithuanian Government is systematically searching for ways to reduce dependence from Russian gas. Even though Poland is planning to start commercial extraction of shale gas in 2014, and it is not clear yet how efficient it will be, Lithuania is working on the principle that the exploration will be successful.

Source: Baltic Review

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Feb 28

Shout it from the Rooftops – Shale Gas is Coming to Town

By Curve shale gas No Comments »

 

In her speech to delegates at Shale Gas World Europe 2011, Malgorzata Maria Klawiter, Chief Specialist for Unconventional Resources, Department of Economic Development at the Office of the Marshall of the Pomorskie Voivoideship in Poland showed a slide of a protest against shale gas in her region of Poland.

“People protest against everything because they don’t know,” she explained. “It’s hard to predict how the discussion would be accepted by the citizens; sometimes they are afraid of something that’s new; many times it’s not the locals but people with the cottage houses who don’t live there but come there very often – they don’t want to be bothered by heavy trucks on their lands.”

Ms. Klawiter said that she engaged an environmental NGO at protests, suggesting they should consider the benefits, but they said she had been bought by the industry.

“The protesters were against pollution,” she recalled. “They were throwing around sentences, saying something was stated in the law that’s not. They said they don’t want to be educated, because it meant the industry wanted to impose its opinion upon them.”

Regional authorities, she said, needed to be involved in the dialogue, but sometimes they did not bear the knowledge to be able to do that.

She explained, “Regional self government is not the actor involved in granting concessions, but we can influence communities, authorities, and the local government, so we are in a good place to be an integrator for all the actions occurring.”

She said that Pomorskie Region, where she was an official, was in the northwest of Poland with a population of about 2 million, and that the primarily agricultural area had never experienced any gas-related activity.

“The region is more like the integrating part,” she explained of its role among Poland’s administrative units. “It’s not that we have the power over others. We are consulting on strategy, evaluating potential and setting targets.”

She said that there was a problem with social dialogue regarding shale gas exploration, as it was something “perfectly new” in Poland. Ms. Klawiter said, “The concession areas are huge and this is the very beginning. There are like 10 well bores, so the influence exploration will have is hard to predict.”

“Many companies predict a huge amount of shale gas there, up to 5 TCM,” she reported of her region.

Showing a map of the Pomorskie region, she said that 85% of the region was covered with concessions. Ms. Klawiter showed a list of concessionaires and said that ownership changed very quickly. According to her, the three biggest were 3Legs Resources, PGNiG and BNK Petroleum.

Again, in regards to public acceptance issues, she said talking to everyone was her advice to the delegates in attendance.

“Polish law says you need to discuss with local communities and seek their acceptance,” said Klawiter. “If they know too late they might be scared enough not to talk to anyone.

“It’s our responsibility, not only the company’s,” she continued of informing the public of E&P activities. “If you start the dialogue, involve local authorities as well as the regional authorities in how to target this specific community. One could be pro, the other against.”

She reported that the Pomorskie Voivodeship planned on initiating a public dialogue entitled “Energy and Self Governance.” “At the end of the discussion the whole thing is written down so that participants can reevaluate and contact the persons involved,” said Klawiter, who offered more details.

“We want to give an opportunity to companies to make a space for dialogue. We would invite experts, allow questions to be asked, meet companies and authorities. When they all have knowledge and dialogue, they can work on a compromise.”

Source: Natural Gas for Europe

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Feb 23

Polish Gas Monopoly Sues Russian Supplier Gazprom

By Curve Poland No Comments »

 

Poland’s gas monopoly PGNiG says it has filed a lawsuit against its Russian supplier Gazprom with an international tribunal in a price dispute.

State-owned PGNiG said Tuesday that the reason was a change in the pricing within a long-term deal concluded in September of 1996. It filed the lawsuit with the Arbitration Tribunal in Stockholm. It refused to give more details.

Gazprom in January eased prices for some of its clients in Western Europe, but not for PGNiG, which has been lately asking for price cuts.

Under the current deal, Poland’s imports of Russian gas were more than 318 billion cubic feet (9 billion cubic meters) in 2011 and were to rise to 360 billion cubic feet through 2022, but the prices was not released to the public.

 Source: Business Week
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Feb 22

Poland May Tax Shale Gas in 2015

By Curve Poland No Comments »

 

Poland may tax shale gas production as of 2015, an official said on Wednesday, as the country hopes future extraction of the commodity would generate fresh state budget revenues on top of boosting its energy security.

Poland granted more than 100 exploration permits, issuing them to global majors such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil , after a U.S. agency estimated the country could have Europe’s largest shale gas reserves of some 5.3 trillion cubic metres.

Though that has not been confirmed yet, Warsaw is already drafting legislation applicable should the shale drive move into a production phase.

“Commercial extraction may be possible as of 2015, so we can preliminarily target that date as one when the tax could start functioning,” Deputy Finance Minister Maciej Grabowski told a conference.

“The goal is to provide a predictable environment for investors,” he added.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government has high hopes for shale gas to help Poland lower its reliance on the highly-polluting coal as well as on Russian gas, thereby improving the security of its energy supplies and improving its energy mix.

Tusk wants shale gas to flow as early as 2014 and his centrist cabinet has recently obliged several state-owned companies to make shale gas investment a key priority.

Poland’s gas monopoly PGNiG said in January it would work with the country’s largest copper miner KGHM and two top utilities PGE and Tauron , all state-owned, exploring for shale gas.

Separately, Exxon also said last month its two shale wells in Poland had not found commercial quantities of gas, prompting Gazprom Europe’s largest gas supplier, to say European shale was an “illusion”.

Source: Reuters

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