Polish explorers succeeded in their gas search. Few days ago, Poland’s gas giant PGNiG SA posted a statement on the official website about a new gas discovery. A deposit of high-methane natural gas was found in the south-eastern part of the country on the border with Ukraine and Slovakia in the Podkarpackie region 350 km away from the capital city. According to experts, the conventional gas field is estimated at several billion cubic meters. PGNiG expects natural gas output from the deposit to reach 100,000 cubic meters daily in the first year of extraction, the statement reads. The company plans several new exploration-extraction wells as it needs to drill 2 km of the solid rock to get to the gas pocket. Poland’s gas monopoly PGNiG SA expects to launch production from the new deposit in the middle of 2015.
Reports for 2012 show that PGNiG SA imported 11 billion cubic meters while 4.32 billion cubic meters of which account for the local production. So, the newly discovered gas field could not have come at a better time. Indeed, one of the major energy problems in Poland is the dependence on imported fuel. Back in 2012, Poland imported 10 billion cubic meters or nearly 75% of the overall gas demand from Russia. The government pushed its efforts to develop unconventional gas sources in the country and investigated the possibility to extract shale gas. However, experts rejected the feasibility plan as unprofitable. Thus, spare several billion cubic meters is a good excuse for optimism. Currently, Poland is ranked 57 in the world in terms of the natural fuel resources. In its report, the Energy Information Administration’s Factbook estimates Poland’s total fuel supply at 727 million barrels of oil equivalent. 576 million barrels account for conventional gas.
