It is not known yet how much of the shale gas in Poland will be appropriate for mining – it was restated at a conference held in Washington, during which Poland and 16 other countries became familiar with U.S. experience in the searching and mining of this gas. Several American and international companies including Chevron, Exxon-Mobil and Conoco-Philips, were granted licences to search for shale gas in Poland. According to some preliminary estimates, there may be approx. 3 million cubic metres of shale gas in Poland or even more. The USA together with Canada are leaders in the field of shale gas mining. Shale gas mining is also promoted as a method of decreasing emissions of gases causing global warming in the atmosphere. In recent years, the production of shale gas in the USA has increased by a factor of 7. At present 10% of the American natural gas production comes from oil shale. It is expected that its share will rise up to 30% and the USA will be able to export it.
Gigawatt power, 2010-09-01,