Poland said the development of shale gas across the EU should obtain the status of "a common European project," adding that it intends to promote the development of unconventional gas during its upcoming EU presidency.
A Polish minister said that research in his country on developing shale gas (see 'Background') was advancing at "unprecedented speed" and that Warsaw was willing to share its experience "in the EU framework".
Speaking at an event in Brussels organised on Friday (6 May) by Demos Europe, a think-tank, Maciej Szpunar, under-secretary of state at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the discussion for developing shale gas across Europe was "more timely than ever".
The Fukushima disaster raised question marks over the future development of nuclear energy, and with petrol prices skyrocketing, there was a need for "innovative solutions" and shale gas certainly provided an answer to the challenge, he said.
Shale gas would also decrease Europe's energy dependence and help the EU to achieve its ambitious CO2 reduction goals, Szpunar claimed.
The Polish official said shale gas should obtain the status of a common European project, and that Poland was going to push for this goal during its EU presidency in the second half of this year.
Andrzej Kozłowski, a high-ranking official at Polish oil giantPKN Orlen, said his company had been among the first in Europe to focus on shale gas after the remarkable experience of the US in developing this unconventional fuel.
He argued that the term "unconventional gas" should perhaps be changed, as more than 50% of gas production in the US is expected to come from shale gas by 2030.
But Kozłowski said that "without legislative support on the EU side," even a large company like Orlen would not be able to meet such an ambitious goal.