Shale gas / Gaz łupkowy

Poland relies heavily on Russia to cover its gas needs, importing about two-thirds of its total annual gas consumption from Russia’s OAO Gazprom. Because of that dependence and its current inability to import gas from other directions, Poland pays what it sees as excessive prices for Russian gas. The state-controlled Russian supplier uses a price formula indexed to the prices of crude oil, while the trends for both commodities on international markets have recently diverged.

(hydraulic fracturing (fracking) --> szczelinowanie, hydrauliczne kruszenie)

United States

• Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches from southern New York to Tennessee, contains 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- about 42 times more than previously estimated (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Poland

Cons:

• High volumes of water are used for hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the method of extracting shale gas, can also cause seismic activity. Disposal of the waste water may cause pollution of surface and groundwater. Extracting shale gas from a platform with six wells can use 170,000 cubic meter of water.