Friday 27 January 2012

Shale gas: Good news for Poland, bad news for Gazprom and the greenies

Bad news for Gazprom and the greenies - and the French and Bulgarian governments (who have made the incredibly stupid decision to ban shale gas exploration):


There is no need for new legislation to regulate shale gas exploration in the European Union, according to a study published Friday that proposed the bloc adopt a low profile on the controversial issue.
The study, carried out by a consultant and authorized by the European Commission, the EU's executive body, says that existing legislation on exploration and production of fossil fuels, chiefly designed to guarantee safety and to protect the environment, can apply to both conventional and unconventional gas.

"The legal study confirms that there is no immediate need for changing our EU legislation," Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger said in a statement. "We take environmental concerns seriously and will continue to monitor the development of shale gas extraction in the EU."

Good news for Poland:

A study by the European Union's Directorate General for Energy, concluding there is no need for new legislation to regulate shale gas exploration, is a good signal to markets, Polish Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski said Friday.

(Poland, which intends to get rid of its dependence on Russian gas, may have enough shale gas to meet its needs for 300 years, according to a U.S. Department of Energy estimate published last April.)

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