Fitch: Even with lower estimate shale gas could still be a game changer in Poland

Even with the new lower estimate Poland´s shale gas reserve could still  be a game changer, according to Fitch:

The PGI shale gas reserve estimate, made in conjunction with the US Geological
Survey, is still substantial. The shale gas reserves would be sufficient to
cover Poland's gas consumption for 25-55 years, in addition to 10 years coverage
by conventional gas reserves. Substantial shale gas production could lower
Poland's dependence on gas imports (currently covering about 70% of gas demand),
most of which comes from Russia. It would also shape Poland's future power
generation mix as the country aims to diversify from the dominance of coal in
power generation by investing in renewables, nuclear energy and gas-fired power
plants.

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These are still early days for shale gas exploration in Poland, and in Europe in general. It is quite possible that there will be an adjustment upwards of the Polish reserve later on. So there is no reason for either Gazprom or the greenies to celebrate.

Russia behind shale gas protests in Bulgaria

Today Bulgarians have witnessed concrete examples of  Gazprom´s - and probably also the Russian intelligence service´s - efforts to prevent the American-led shale gas revolution from reaching Europe:

Approximately 1,000 people have gathered in downtown Sofia to stage a protest against shale gas exploration and production in Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Radio reported.
The protestors urged the parliament to adopt a moratorium and, later, a ban on hydraulic fracturing method, which is used, as they say, in shale gas exploration works and production in Bulgaria.
Similar protests were organized in 11 more cities across Bulgaria.

Alex Alexiev, the chairperson of the executive council of the Centre for Balkan and Black Sea Studies in Sofia gave the background to the Russian efforts already in December:

“The grounds stated in the three draft bills on termination of shale gas studies in Bulgaria coincide with the opinion of Gazprom’s board of directors about the shale gas, published in the end of November,”

In Alexiev’s words, it is hard to avoid the impression that these Bulgarian politicians, deliberately or not, service the interests of the Russian monopolist and work to the detriment of the Bulgarian national interests.
“This is not surprising for the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), since together with their forerunners – the communists, they have always served their Russian masters. As far as Ataka is concerned and the people of Yane Yanev [the Order, Law and Justice (OLJ)] – I do not know what their motives are. I would not be surprised if there are some financial motives, too. The Russians are very generous when it comes to protecting their energy monopoly in Bulgaria,” Alex Alexiev said further.

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