Chevron starts first shale gas drilling in Poland

(Reuters) - U.S. major Chevron this week started drilling its first shale gas exploration well on one of its four licenses in south-eastern Poland, the company said on Wednesday.

"Geological estimates suggest Poland may have substantial undiscovered natural gas resources from shale," Chevron's country manager for Poland, John Claussen said in a statement.

"While we still have a significant evaluation program to complete before we can fully assess the potential in our license areas, we are optimistic about our opportunity here."

Shale is the buzzword in Poland lately after a study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it could have the biggest reserves in Europe amounting to some 5.3 trillion cubic metres of recoverable gas. That has not been confirmed so far.

Poland granted over 100 exploration permits up to date and hopes to start producing shale gas in 2014 at an annual rate of at least 200 million cubic metres to lower its reliance on supplies from Russia, now at some two-thirds of annual consumption.

Chevron, which is also seeking shale gas exploration in Romania and Bulgaria, started drilling on Monday and will go on 24/7 for around 45 days. The company plans further drills in the spring of 2012.

Other global heavyweights engaged in Poland include Exxon Mobil and Marathon Oil operating alongside local players PGNiG , Lotos and PKN Orlen .
On Monday, BNK Petroleum shares tumbled 31 percent after the company said shale results in Poland were inconclusive and delayed testing of another zone in the country.

So far three companies announced they hit some shale gas deposits in Poland, but no details have yet been made public.