Europe Seeks Independence from Russian Gas Imports Through Shale Gas in Poland – Demand Shift & Free Market Competition

Europe seeks independence from Russian gas imports through shale gas in Poland – Demand shift & Free Market Competition Natural gas in Europe is a major source of electricity generation, domestic use (domestic cooking and heating fuel), transportation, and is also used in the manufacture of fabrics, glass, steel, plastics, paint, and other products. Therefore, no industrial country can afford to be cut off from this supply, because it would result in a major loss of economic power and chaos for end consumers such as households. But with Europe being dependent on Russian gas imports with up to 90% could allow this to happen as it was proven by the situation in January 2006, when Russia cut off all gas supplies passing through Ukrainian territory because of geopolitical disputes about the price of natural gas supplied and the cost of tranzit. The result was that numerous European countries did not receive the gas in the middle of the winter. Since then, Europe has been looking for alternative gas resources finding them in shale gas located in Poland.

Shale gas is natural gas formed from being trapped within shale formations. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of this century, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world. Poland is recognized as one of the leaders in this field and has some of the largest deposits of shale gas in Europe. Like the U.S., the country is positioned to reshape the energy sector within Europe thereby creating free market competition and removing Russia’s monopoly on gas imports into Europe.

Poland, which imports over 90 percent of oil and 70 percent of gas from Russia, continues to be concerned about its energy security, therefore Poland is seeking its independence from Russian gas and oil imports. The Polish shale gas industry could create over 155,000 new jobs within the next 10 years, and international oil&gas companies are...