Poland approves new legislation on shale gas extraction

Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced March 11 that after three years the government finally approved a legislative bill that defines shale gas exploitation in Poland.

“Poland is an [energy exploitation opportunity], and the recent developments in the East show that this is important,” said Tusk, as cited by Puls Biznesu.

The announcement was favorably received by shale gas exploration companies, although it did not cause euphoria, as some experts said that the new legislation bill is probably late.

Over two years several foreign exploration companies left Poland, including: ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Talisman Energy and Eni.

Polish state-owned energy giants have meanwhile intensified their foreign investments. PGNiG has reported successes in Norway and PKN Orlen took over Canadian exploration company, TriOil, in 2013. It is not clear whether the newly-approved bill will enable Poland to regain investor trust.

The government decided not to go ahead with an idea of creating a state supervisory body for exploration of the shale gas, which according to original legislation, was to have shares in each shale gas concession. The proposal of shale gas exploration’s exclusion from taxation until 2020 was also upheld. In addition, the new legislation bill also introduces many administrative simplifications, such as in awarding concessions for shale gas exploration. In Poland the process to obtain concession lasts typically for nine months. In USA, this lasts no longer than 45 days.