Shale gas firms wait for new law

“Foreign companies are undoubtedly waiting for the final version of the law, which should be adopted this year and take effect in 2015," Treasury Minister Mikołaj Budzanowski told Associated Press.

"It will certainly give a big impulse for intensifying gas exploration efforts in Poland," he said.

The new law will lay out tax levels for companies, which will be set at around 40 percent, and other conditions which will regulate business conditions for mining the gas.

Poland is hoping that shale gas will help the country wean itself of its dependence on Russian energy.

A survey run by the EU's statistical service Eurobarometer shows Poles remain the most enthusiastic about the gas in Europe.

Nearly a half of Polish citizens are not concerned by what some claim are environmental dangers involved in separating the gas from rock – a process known as 'fracking' - while 80 percent of European citizens on average are concerned with the environmental risks that it poses.

Environmental concerns are at the core of the recent steps to abandon shale gas extraction programmes in France, Germany and Bulgaria.

Only 46 percent of Polish respondents declared they would be concerned if shale gas exploration took place not far from their homes.

89 percent of the French are against shale gas, with high levels of scepticism shown in Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Austria. (aba/pg)