Poland to Enact New Shale Law From Next Year

Poland will enact new regulations on shale gas extraction from next year, Polish Environment Minister Piotr Wozniak has said, with a new tax on the practice to take place from 2016.

Speaking to the PAP news agency, Minister Wozniak said that Poland planned to implement a new law on the extraction of shale gas in 2013 following the preparation of the law this year by the Polish Ministries of Environment and Finance. A draft version of the law could be available by November, he said.

"The bill can be applicable as of 2013," Reuters news agency reports the Minister as saying to PAP. "If we publish the draft this or next month, oil and gas companies will have a chance to prepare their business plans for next year based on transparent rules."

The new regulations would see the creation of a new state-run entity, which would invest in shale extraction operations, Minister Wozniak said. This new agency would take a stake in the shale gas projects in exchange for its investment. It would "on the one hand, strengthen the administrative oversight of proper execution of license obligations and a safe secondary market of licenses, and, on the other hand, to create a state investor in the deposits, namely the National Operator of Energy Mineables (NOKE)," Minister Wozniak explained.

A new tax law is also set to be implemented in the country, with this law coming three years after the the shale extraction regulation, the Minister said, with the exact rates and details of the tax still under discussion.

"We want the new tax on extraction to take effect as of the beginning of 2016," PAP reports Minister Wozniak as saying. "There is still discussion within the government as to the size of the tax on hydrocarbons extraction and we will arrive at a compromise soon."