According to the US Energy Information Administration, Poland may have as much as 5,300bn cubic metres of the gas – the largest reserves in Europe. This is more even than France, which has turned against drilling on environmental grounds.
The gas is potentially accessible thanks to new techniques of pumping water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure – known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” – to release trapped gas.
“When we started there were many doubts over whether the gas existed at all,” says John Buggenhagen, exploration director at San Leon Energy, which has 10 gas concessions in Poland. “But we are seeing better results than we ever expected.”
The country currently uses 14bn cubic metres of gas a year, 9bn of which come from Russia, Poland’s old imperial master. If shale gas is found in large quantities – and certainty will only come within three to five years – it could turn Poland into an energy exporter.
Gas could also help with Poland’s pollution problem. Currently, about 85 per cent of Polish electricity is generated by coal, which will become increasingly untenable thanks to EU restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.
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