CHICAGO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Disappointing results from Exxon Mobil's efforts to extract natural gas from shale deposits in Poland shows the market is still in its infancy, an expert said.
Exxon Mobil announced that early efforts in shale gas exploration in Poland weren't lucrative enough for commercial production. Gianna Bern, an analyst at Brookshire Advisory and Research in Chicago, told Bloomberg News that shale is something of a frontier market in Poland.
"Shale exploration is a very high-cost and high-risk business and the Polish shale market is still in its infancy," said Bern. "It's early in the game for Poland and they have significant potential reserves over there."
The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration estimated Poland holds at least 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in shale deposits, enough to meet domestic demand for more than 300 years.
If Poland can find a way to tap into shale, said Benjamin Schlesinger, founder of utilities advisory Benjamin Schlesinger and Associates Inc., then Warsaw could take great strides toward energy independence.
"Poland's shale resources are enormous," he told Bloomberg. "Poland should be able to capture a good deal of those resources and reduce reliance on the Russian Federation."
