Poland’s treasury minister said Thursday that the country may start producing shale gas for commercial use in 2014, a move that should help the country limit its reliance on neighboring Russia for a large chunk of its energy needs.
Mikolaj Budzanowski said that commercial production of up to 1 billion cubic meters per year could start in late 2014. He said the deposits could be up to 2 trillion cubic meters, enough to add to Poland’s energy mix for decades.
Poland is seeking to diversify its energy sources to cut dependence on Russian imports and its shale gas deposits are a major element in the plan. Nuclear energy and renewable sources are also to be added to the energy mix.
