Morawiecki talks to Perry about LNG imports, Polish shale gas

Poland’s Deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki met with the US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to discuss the possibility of Poland importing LNG from the US. “There is willingness on the US side regarding potential LNG exports to Poland. We’re looking to increase LNG supply to our terminal in Świnoujście, which is the biggest such facility on the Baltic sea,” Morawiecki said, adding that he did not discuss details of potential deal. He said, however that for Poland, importing LNG from the US would significantly improve Poland’s energy security. Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States. For countries that do not have an FTA with the United States (including Poland), the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorizations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.” Morawiecki also discussed the possibility of Poland returning to shale gas extraction. “It’s not beyond my imagination that we will return to the topic of shale gas extraction in Poland,” Morawiecki said. He added, that while Poland has big shale gas deposits (estimated in 2012 at between 346–768 billion cubic meters), they’re located too deep, for fracking to be commercially feasible. However, as he pointed out the technology is getting more advanced and cheaper, so sometime in the near future, it might become profitable.