It's a GAS

Poland's test extractions of shale gas are the biggest seen in Europe so far. Eager to reduce energy dependency on Russia, Poland has succeeded after three international firms quit drilling in the country.

PKN Orlen, a Polish refiner, is also expected to announce the production results of tests at its well in Syczyn in eastern Poland, one of the most promising in the country.

Three international majors, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil, and Talisman Energy, dropped out of the program after they failed to hit their targets. According to a June report by US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the estimates for Poland's shale gas resources have fallen from 187 trillion to 148 trillion cubic meters.

Poland imports up to 70 percent of its gas from Russia and is eager to reduce its energy reliance on its neighbor. The country issued more than 100 shale gas exploration licenses to local and international firms which have drilled 48 wells so far.

ConocoPhillips, is now extracting  80,000 cubic feet of shale gas per day at a test well in the northern city of Lebork, Poland. Although the productivity of the site is lower than at gas fields in the US or Canada, it is still a breakthrough and marks the first positive result for shale gas extraction in Europe, according to the Poland's Chief Geologist Piotr Wozniak.