Italian energy company Eni is abandoning efforts to produce shale gas in Poland, dealing yet another blow to the country’s ambitions of becoming a significant gas producer and raising questions over shale’s prospects elsewhere in Europe. The initial excitement has dissipated as the government has struggled to come up with a new energy law, annoying an industry that wants clarity before investing. --Jan Cienski in Warsaw, Financial Times, 15 January 2014
The Italian energy firm Eni is now the fourth of five early movers on Poland’s shale reserves to call it quits, and it’s hard to call this anything but a disaster for Polish shale ambitions. That’s a shame, because for a little while there it looked like Poland might have been the first country in Europe to follow in America’s footsteps. But while Eni blamed Poland’s geology with scuppering its plans, it’s not just the country’s geology that is causing problems: excessive and unclear regulations are scaring away foreign investors.-- Walter Russell Mead,
The American Interest, 16 January 2014
Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK) has issued a report criticizing the progress on shale gas exploration in the country. License issuing processes were unreliable and did not promote equality, they also took more time than was necessary, the report went on to say. All this irregularities could lead to potential corruption, NIK concluded. The office was also skeptical of the progress in estimating the size of Poland’s shale gas reserves. If the current rate of test drilling is maintained, it may take about 12 years to complete the process, the report said. --
Warsaw Business Journal, 14 January 2014
The EU’s competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, has said that Brussels will investigate the UK’s plans for incentivising shale gas production “if needed”, as more EU lawmakers and NGOs call for an EU state aid probe to be launched. His office later clarified that any investigation would hinge on an assessment that British plans to allow local councils to keep twice as much tax monies from shale gas production – and let shale gas firms pay half the going tax rate – broke EU rules. --
EurActiv, 17 January 2014
George Osborne's hopes of a British shale gas boom have been dealt a blow after Tory council chiefs indicated they would oppose fracking in the Chancellor’s own shale-rich Tatton constituency. Mr Osborne has been the government’s most vocal advocate of fracking, which he believes can lower energy bills and create thousands of jobs. But Cheshire East council, which covers the majority of the Tatton, has declared it will remain “fracking-free”, while the leader of Cheshire West and Chester council, which covers the remainder of the seat, said he “wouldn’t be minded to support” fracking unless cash benefits for communities were increased. --Emily Gosden and Peter Dominiczak,
The Daily Telegraph, 15 January 2014
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee was taking evidence from Chris Wright, the straight-talking boss of an American shale gas company. Wright was very optimistic about the drill core data from the UK, believing that our shales could be at least as productive as some of those he had worked on back in America. But would he therefore be getting involved in the nascent UK shale gas industry? Not a chance. Having to spend a year trying to get permission from the Environment Agency every time he wanted to try a slightly different fracking recipe would, he said, be the death of him. --Andrew Montford,
The Spectator, 16 January 2014
BP, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, believes shale production will take off in Russia and Latin America within two decades, raising hopes that America’s oil supply revolution can be replicated elsewhere. BP says shale output will continue to grow strongly for at least two decades. “We see [shale production] continuing upwards . . . the upward trend is determined by the fact that other countries are joining the fray,” said Christof Ruehl, BP’s chief economist. --Ajay Makan, Financial Times, 15 January 2014
Most Americans who came of age in the 1970s are approaching 50 or have already crossed over. For the ever-expanding cohort too young to remember, we can sum up the '70s in a word: Forgettable. So why is it that so much of U.S. energy policy is stuck in the 1970s with federal laws that are "antiquated," to use the apt description of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska? We think Sen. Murkowski is asking the right - and long overdue - question. When it comes to energy policy, the '70s aren't just "so yesterday"; they're prehistoric. Something must give, and soon. --Editorial,
Houston Chronicle, 15 January 2014
