How to Overcome Europe’s Dependence on the Resource Supplies from Russia.
Unconventional gas, in particular shale, is the opportunity for Europe to achieve significant security of energy supplies, however, obtaining this will require a lot of determination and effort – this is one of the main conclusions of the report which was prepared by the Kościuszko Institute in collaboration with the experts from Poland, Europe and the United States.
In the document we read that unconventional gas may play a significant role in reducing the European energy dependence on Russia. The authors argue that it already indirectly influences the EU market because due to the decline of the demand for LNG in the US where the shale gas is extracted, it is directed to Europe. And together with the increase of the extraction in North America, in four to five years, significant quantities of LNG from shale may appear on the European market. The authors of the report argue that for the shale gas to be able to constitute a significant counterbalance for the resource from Russia, the member states and the European Commission must take a lot of actions. And they suggest that the Community countries have to be ready for the development of a sound and attractive system of investment incentives for companies exploring and extracting shale. “We are facing a situation which is reverse to the situation from not too long ago; now it is not the capital which is looking for rare gas deposits but it is the deposits that are waiting for capital, thus there is a need for attractive tax and licensing system", we read in the report. At the same time, such a system has to be sound enough to guarantee the highest standards with respect to environmental protection within the entire EU and to ensure full compliance with the EU environmental directives.
It follows from the report that it is very unlikely that any law will be created in the EU which is passed only in order to restrict the production of unconventional gas. Such action could be considered to be an attempt to influence the choice by the member state between various energy sources and general structure of its energy supplies. And this would require unanimity at the Council of Europe. The shale gas may change the energy balance and the structure of the Poland’s supply of the resources. In the Energy Policy until 2030, adopted two years ago by the government, the increase of the demand for natural gas together with the energy industry development was foreseen. The implementation of the main projects announced so far by the companies may increase the demand for natural gas by 2.6 – 3.9 billion cubic meters a year. Now, each year our country uses over 14 billion cubic meters of the resource out of which over 60 % comes from Russia.
Source: Rzeczpospolita B, page no. : 1, 2011-09-02, by: Agnieszka Łakoma