Fracking Concerns Hinder Land Acquisition

Speaking at a conference, an official of PGNiG SA said that the company is having difficulty in acquiring land access to allow it to proceed with shale gas drilling in Pomernia.

For the past several months, PGNiG has been contacting landowners with offers to lease or purchase.

“Nobody wants to talk to us,”  said PGNiG’s Maciej Nowakowski, citing publicity about the possible environmental hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing technology.

Rex Tillerson, chief executive of energy giant and Poland shale explorer Exxon Mobil Corp., noted at the company's recent shareholders meeting that public fears meant there were areas the industry could no longer access.

PGNiG commenced exploratory drilling for shale gas near to Wejherowo last December. The results of the first well were reported to be very promising.

Nowakowski explained that the preparations in advance of drilling require about 4-5 hectares of land.

Though a concession block may in large (i.e. 800 square kilometers), the actually amount of land actually available to undertake exploration activities may be less than ten percent of that number.

Population density has been highlighted as one of the challenges to the successful development of shale gas in Europe versus the United States, where activities are often conducted in sparsely populated areas.

Nowakowski said that access to land at the moment might be restricted to that available from the Agricultural Market Agency.

Source: PAP