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Early estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Administration that put Poland's shale gas reserves at 5.3 trillion cubic meters were revised last year by Poland's geology experts to below 800 billion cubic meters. But even that amount would help the country reduce its dependence on Russia and boost the economy. The question is getting the investment and encouraging major companies to persevere in the exploration. The government is sticking with its plans to have commercial production start in 2015. Hopes for quick returns from shale gas were initially fuelled by the enormous success of the industry in the United State over the past two decades. Large-scale production from thousands of wells in the U.S. cut gas prices to less than $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, making the nation self-sufficient in the gas sector. But outside of Poland, many European countries have been more reluctant to embrace shale gas because of the extraction method's potential environmental impact. Shale gas is natural gas trapped in porous shale rock. It is extracted though hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that involves pumping huge amounts of water
-- laced with sand and small amounts of chemicals -- into horizontal wells drilled in the rock. That crushes the rock, releasing the gas. Activists say the fluids make their way into the natural ground water reserves, poisoning tap water and contaminating agricultural land. A study by the Polish Geological Institute last year declared shale gas extraction to be safe but experts remain divided. Some U.S. companies, like Halliburton Inc., are developing non-toxic extraction liquids. With shale gas developing slower than planned, Poland continues to rely on its rich black coal resources, which are cheaper than gas. It is also building a liquid gas terminal on the Baltic Sea coast, to be operational in 2014. The government wants Poland to have a nuclear power plant in the 2020s and is encouraging development of renewable energy sources like wind turbines, biofuels and solar panels.
[Associated
Press;
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