Now in Poland, Fracking vs. the Environment

Poland’s path to energy independence through shale gas is being delayed by skylarks, red kites, and local farmers hesitant to grant access to their land. The nation has enough of the fuel to last at least 50 years and free it from dependence on Russia, the Polish Geological Institute reports. Exploiting the deposits will require the government to allay concerns of environmentalists and the tourism industry that hydraulic fracturing will pollute their water. “People in the region have emotional ties to their land, which they’ve owned for generations,” says Malgorzata Klawiter, the official who deals with shale gas issues for the region of Pomerania. “For them, the value of an old home with a shack and surrounding land is much higher than any market estimate.”

Much of the gas lies more than 3 miles below the nature reserves and winding roads that link rural villages in the north of the country. Explorers including ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and Polish gas company Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG) may spend $4.5 billion this decade sinking wells to tap it. The Environment Ministry, which has been trying to simplify rules governing shale gas production, expects companies to drill 39 wells this year, more than double the annual average over the previous 30 months.