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Poland Shale Gas Ambitions Undaunted by Bulgarian 'No' |
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Friday, 20 January 2012The ban on the exploration and production of shale gas in Bulgaria has in no way affected the resolution of the Polish government to pursue the approach in Poland.
This was revealed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Polish National Radio Thursday, a day after the Bulgarian Parliament voted to ban the hydraulic fracturing technique involved in exploring and producing shale gas.
Hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - is widely claimed to be environmentally hazardous, as it involves pumping undisclosed chemicals at exceedingly high pressures deep into the ground. Cases have been documented in which this has severely poisoned ground water.
In June, the Bulgarian government granted US gas giant Chevron a permit to explore for shale gas in a large segment of north-eastern Bulgaria, traditionally one of the country's most productive agricultural regions.
This has led to a number of protests that culminated when last Saturday thousands came out in Bulgarian capital Sofia, Varna and Dobrich in the north-east, as well as a number of other cities.
Wednesday Bulgarian MPs voted with a large majority to ban for an indefinite time exploration and production of shale gas with hydraulic fracturing, imposing a BGN 100 M penalty for infringement.
"This will not change Poland’s existing position presented to the EU, in which every member state has the sovereign right to define its own position regarding energy resources," the Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Some in Poland feared the country, among the first in Europe to have started exploring for shale gas, might get isolated when Bulgaria became second to ban hydraulic fracturing, following France who did so in 2011.
In Poland, as in Bulgaria, shale gas and oil are advertised as alternatives to imports of Russian energy.
A new Polish geological report says there are indications of large shale oil deposits near Warsaw, Radom (south of Warsaw) and Elblag near the Baltic coast, writes the BBC.
But Polish media also report that plans of energy giant such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron to drill for shale gas in southeastern Poland have met with protests in the villages of Rogow and Zurawlow. |
Friday, 20 January 2012
Novinite
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