Hydraulic Fracturing, Shale Development and Water Issues in Poland

Abstract

Poland is the largest and possibly most promising European country for future shale development. But attempts to recreate a “shale revolution” in Poland for now have failed due to geological, cost and regulatory factors. Even so, the potential for shale exploration is not necessarily lost since technology and the market can at some point deliver more hospitable conditions. Water is probably the single most important element of the environment that hydraulic fracturing utilizes and has the potential to deplete and/or contaminate, resulting in host of adverse impacts across the land and population. This paper is a first take on describing the intricacies that exist between water and potential shale development in Poland. It provides an overview of the legal environment on both shale exploration and water law, and describes and contrasts the geological and water-related features of the regions where shale exploration takes place. On the basis of this initial assessment, the paper provides recommendations with respect to developing water policy and potential shale development.