Exxon's Shale Gas Well Failures in Poland May Lengthen Gazprom's Shadow

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)’s failed shale-gas wells in Poland may hobble the nation’s effort to become one of the world’s major energy sources and dismantle Russian dominance of Eastern European natural-gas markets.

Exxon, the world’s largest energy company by market value, said two exploratory wells drilled in a Polish shale formation last year weren’t commercially viable.

[Pesky army]

Two wells drilled were not worth of one Polak kielbasa.
Dumb Polaks thought they might become independent, self-sufficient just by drilling some hole in the ground.
As usual, Polaks still live in a dreamland.

[e46M3 e60M5]

1. What a rather silly remark. Exxon was actually looking at this Polish play already 20 years ago in its Houston office, but put it aside. Then Devon Energy was looking at it recently. Exxon finally stepped up to the plate.

2. Two non-commercial exploration wells do not condemn an entire play.

[Riles33]

Much ado about nothing. I'm afraid shale gas extraction in Europe not just won't bring fruits but apparently hides a number of certain risks for ecology. Look, to get 1 thousand cubic meters of shale gas they are pumping at least 2-3 tones of water mixed with sand into the layer, washing away practically ground from under own boots. Subsidence of rock risk appears... and here you're: gaps in roads and houses under the ground... And at all that they extract minimum material that in comparison with natural gas buries significantly worse. So is there a sense to stake own ecological security just striving at it to sting communists? Reportedly Americans have already turned Pennsylvania into a zone of ecological disaster...