Canada's Talisman to look for shale gas in Poland next year

20 July 2010 12:30  [Source: ICIS news]

PRAGUE (ICIS news)--Canadian oil and gas explorer Talisman Energy has announced plans to start drilling for shale gas in Poland next year, the company said on Tuesday.

At the 19-20 July Global Shale Gas Summit in Warsaw, Talisman detailed how it had obtained three licenses to search for shale in cooperation with San Leon Energy, in three blocks in the Baltic basin in northern Poland.

The summit has heard how the Polish government was hopeful there could be up to 3,000m cubic metres of shale gas and tight gas in Poland, an amount that could transform the gas supply prospects of its chemical and other industries which are currently heavily reliant on Russian exports.

During a presentation at the summit, Polish oil, chemical and petrochemical group PKN Orlen confirmed its plans to use five licences in a search for shale gas, with its drilling also to start next year.

"But we're still a long way from making a business decision [on whether there is enough gas for commercial drilling],"  said Orlen's Wieslaw Prugar, the head of its shale and tight gas exploration unit.

Poland's first exploratory shale gas well was initiated last month by gas monopoly PGNiG.

Shale gas development was pioneered in the US. The process involves rock formations being horizontally drilled and fractured using water and other liquids under high pressure to release the gas within.

By: Will Conroy
+44 20 8652 3214

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