Polish state-controlled natural gas company PGNiG said on May 13 that it was worried that hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as "fracking" — may face a Europe-wide ban soon because of the decision by the French Parliament to ban the procedure on May 12.
Fracking is a technology used for extracting shale natural gas and has the potential to change the balance of energy power in Europe. Poland, currently dependent on Russian natural gas exports for around half of its annual consumption, is estimated to hold 5.3 trillion cubic meters of shale gas and is therefore one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the technology. French oil company Total and the U.S. oil firm Exxon Mobile signed an agreement May 13 to explore for shale gas, granting over 90 exploration licenses. The French resistance to the technique is based on environmental concerns, and as Stratfor pointed out recently, the French environmental and anti-globalization nongovernmental organizations have chosen the issue as the next target of interest. The French environmentalist groups have in the past used protests against novel techniques to affect European-wide regulation, particularly in the case of genetically modified organisms. Warsaw is concerned that the French ban will not end with Paris, which is why the OGNiG's deputy chief executive, Marek Karabula, has said that countries should regulate fracking at the national level, not the European level.
