Shale gas in the Łódź region? The daughter company of Orlen applied for a license for the exploration of unconventional gas deposits near Sieradz.
Recently, the shale gas has been a hot topic. Americans have estimated that in Poland there is over 5 trillion cubic meters of that resource. Nothing strange that the entire Poland is getting ready for the shales. The main region of exploration is located in the diagonal strip from Gdańsk, through Mazowsze region down to Lublin area. That is where private companies received a few tens of licenses. But on the map prepared by the Ministry of the Environment there is also one “spot” in central Poland – a pretty large area between Zduńska Wola, Wieluń and Wieruszów. As we have found out, Orlen Upstream, a subsidiary of the fuel giant, applies for a license in that area. The applications submitted by it are reviewed by the Ministry of the Environment, the decisions should be made after vacation. If they are positive, Orlen Upstream will have 3 years to carry out seismic tests and assess the attractiveness of the deposit. The decisions whether the company will further engage itself in the work in that area will depend on this. However, there is no 100% certainty that the shale gas is involved as it would follow from the government map. Orlen uses a broader term: "unconventional gas". It may mean shale gas, notably such which can be found in small rock crevices under the ground. But it may also be the tight gas which is obtained from sandstone.
Are there any chances near Sieradz to discover “vein of gold"? Mr. Mirosław Rutkowski from the Polish Geological Institute says that the licenses sold to the companies by the Ministry of the Environment are prepared based on tests carried out by his institution. However, he did not want to say what the soil near Sieradz may be hiding. “Because we are going into commercial matters, that is why we cannot value concessions and say that in some place there are bigger or smaller chances for finding gas deposits”, says Rutkowski. However, he describes how the tests look like. After the studies of archival reports, seismic tests are performed. A few dozen trucks with special plates enter the site; the plates are lowered to the ground and they generate shocks. In this manner, knowledge about geological structure is obtained and places for drillings are picked. Making a borehole costs approximately PLN 50 million. On average, three boreholes are made. Also, other tests are costly. In aggregate the cost reaches even PLN 500 million. “And this is only the beginning”, says Mirosław Rutkowski. “In the US annual outlays on the average field reach 5 billion dollars. This is a gigantic investment which pays back only after 10 or 20 years.
About this also in:
Polska Gazeta Krakowska, page 9, Będą łupy z łupków? (Will There be Spoils from Shales?)
PR Łódź, Na Dzień Dobry, 2011-06-08 07:53:09,
Source: Polska Dziennik Łódzki, on page 1, 2011-06-08, by Piotr Brzózka