ConocoPhillips targets shale gas in Poland

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US oil major has said it has signed an exploration and evaluation deal targeting shale gas in Poland. The agreement with Lane Energy gives ConocoPhillips the option to earn 70 % and operate up to 1 mm acres, Larry Archibald, the company's vice president of exploration, told. The acreage in northern Poland is flat, easy to reach and any natural gas produced can go into the European Union market, which has good demand, Archibald said.
"What's not to like about this type of play?" the executive said.

Shale reserves hold vast amounts of natural gas. They are unlocked by drilling horizontal wells and fracturing the rock at various intervals deep underground.
ConocoPhillips said it expects to drill its first well in Poland in the first quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, in North America where natural gas prices recently fell to seven-year lows, ConocoPhillips is scaling back its drilling in many areas. Archibald said the company did not "feel a lot of pressure to drill up" its North American shale positions at current prices.

Laner Energy has 5 hydrocarbon exploration and prospection licences cover an area of approximately 1,030,000 acres and are held through the subsidiary company, Lane Energy Poland. The licence areas are located in Northern Poland, in the Baltic Basin region, near the Port of Gdansk.
The 5 licences contain minimum work program obligations during the 4-year term to shoot 3D seismic and drill exploration wells. Our assessment of the reservoir potential, based on independent testing of core samples and review of historical well log data, is extremely encouraging.

Having become a member of the EC in 2004, we believe Poland to be a stable and lawful country with a key geopolitical position in Central Europe. It has a population of approximately 38 mm people and is an area of focus for foreign investment.
Europe's increasing demands for stable energy supply and its reliance on Russian gas is well documented.