Shale and tight gas in Poland-legal and environmental issues

Exploitation of unconventional gas is limited by a number of economic, legal, environmental and social factors. When it comes to Poland, legal and environmental factors are of special importance, as they might significantly impact the exploitation of both tight gas and shale gas. Exploitation of unconventional gas deposits, because of the technology needed for opening of these deposits, has relatively great impact on the balance sheet and the quality of water. Polish water resources are limited and depend on time and local circumstances. Therefore, obtaining adequate amounts of water needed to hydraulic fracturing of unconventional gas reservoirs may cause some problems. Another problem is return water management. Injection of contaminated water into the rockmass on a large scale seems to be impossible in Poland. Water discharge to surface waters, which seems to be the most probable solution, would result in deterioration of the purity of Polish rivers. Around 32% of Poland is covered by different forms of protection, which might include limitations in exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits (depending on the type of area). Exploration, documentation and exploitation of unconventional gas in Poland is regulated mainly by the laws and regulations regulating geological and mining activities, environmental protection and waste management. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.