Chevron commences shale gas drilling in Poland

02 November 2011 13:33  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--A Polish subsidiary of the Chevron Corporation has begun exploratory drilling for shale gas, the US energy group said on Wednesday.

Chevron Polska Exploration & Production drilled its first well to explore for gas that can be extracted from shale rock in the Grabowiec licence area in Lublin province, southeastern Poland, it added.

"The company is pursuing an exploration programme that includes acquiring geophysical surveys to generate subsurface maps, and drilling exploratory wells," Chevron said.

"To date, the company has acquired more than over 1,300km [800 miles] of subsurface data across the four concession areas [it is licensed to explore in Lublin province]."

Along with Chevron, companies including Polish oil and petrochemical group PKN Orlen, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Polish gas monopoly PGNiG have begun exploratory drilling for shale gas in Poland.

The Polish government says preliminary estimates show the country's shale gas reserves could be as high as 5.3 trillion cubic metres, equivalent to more than 300 years of the country's yearly gas requirement.

However, an analysis from Erste Group Bank in June cautioned that Europe would have to wait at least five years before any significant rates of unconventional gas production were achieved.

By: Will Conroy
+44 20 8652 3214

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