Gigantic shale deposits were discovered in Poland exactly in the regions where the economy has been developing at a lower speed. Pomerania and Mazury represent today, to a large extent, deserted villages, in many cases where the former State Agricultural Farms were located, with high unemployment rate and no hope for a better tomorrow. The Lublin and Podkarpacie regions are a part of the so-called eastern wall, notably Poland B, regions which economically are the most deprived.

 

The discovery of the shale gas deposits represent for such regions the opportunity for work, increase of income from local taxes, infrastructure development, especially roads. This also creates the opportunity to improve qualifications and gain additional income for the residents of the areas rich in gas. According to the forecasts of the US Energy Information Administration there is over 5.3 trillion cubic meters of shale gas in these areas. In March of this year, we will probably know the first Polish estimates of the Polish Geological Institute regarding shale deposits. Then, it will be possible to assess more precisely and plan the possibilities related with the exploitation of unconventional deposits.

 

However, it is no wonder that local communities are more and more interested in them. In the regional press in the Pomeriania, Mazury and Podkarpacie regions more and more articles are published about that topic. Of course, there are doubts as to whether the extraction of the shale gas is safe. The companies which make the drillings claim that there will be no damage to the environment but the benefits flowing from under the ground will be immense for the region. According to the cautious estimates local extraction of gas in the next decade will exceed the entire domestic demand for that product. According to the optimistic forecasts we will extract four times more than we need.

 

Gazeta Polska Codziennie, Page no.: 8, 2012-02-06, by: Marek Michałowski