The leadership in Russia has been busily destroying the sensible business reputation they inherited from the old Soviet Union.  Freedom also allows mistakes.  The Putin trend has already proven itself willing to use its gas reserves as a weapon in diplomatic negotiations. Moscow cut gas supplies to Ukraine in January 2006 during a row over gas prices and debts. In January 2009, European countries received no Russian gas via Ukraine for three weeks while Moscow and Kiev again argued over pipeline transit fees and gas prices.  The Putin trend has also punished Poland in oil and other markets.

Just to add self insult to the reputability self destruction Russia is leading the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), which includes Russia and Algeria, the two major gas exporters to Europe, that aspires one day become a “gas OPEC”, able to set quotas and prices as the oil cartel does. Iran and Venezuela, while not particularly large gas exporters, are also members.  This caliber of partners in an association does nothing good for Russia’s reputation and influence where it matters.

News reports have it that vast reserves of shale gas lie under Poland that could in the future free Western Europe from its dependence on Russian natural gas with the help of recent advances in American reserve fracturing and extraction technology.

Energy consultant Wood Mackenzie estimates up to 1.36 trillion cubic meters of unconventional shale gas could be lying under northern and central Poland. If the find is confirmed at that number it will increase the EU’s reserves by 47 per cent and offer a more reliable alternative to Russia’s vast natural gas supplies. ConocoPhillips is planning to start drilling near Gdansk next month and will be followed by ExxonMobil.

The notion to make GECF a cartel was first suggested in 2002 by then President Vladimir Putin. In 2006, Aleksandr Medvedev, Gazprom’s deputy chairman, threatened to create “an alliance of gas suppliers more influential than OPEC” if Europe did not play ball in energy negotiations.  Such great fellows to have to make a deal with.

If the exploratory drilling by the Americans with their technology and experience works out as well or better than the consultant’s estimates, then a new battle for markets will begin.  And a misinformation and/or disinformation campaign can be expected.  The American technology called hydraulic fracturing, with several decades of ecological accident and damage free practice and the same amount of time in development and improvement is under assault from the “media, press and politicians” with little regard for facts.  The mis and dis information effort is already well underway. No KGB type influence has yet been announced as detected.

Oddly, or perhaps even amazingly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the utter bane of many industrial developments has already studied hydraulic fracturing without finding cause for alarm or concern.  Yet again the left in the U.S. Congress expects another study to be done as the science didn’t meet their expectations.  That puts the Russian leadership, their Gazprom Company, the American political left, much of the media and press all in the very same bed – trying to undo or change history – using an American government agency. How’s that for a recipe for corruption?

The Americans, the Poles, plus Germany, India, South Africa, and Australia all have huge gas reserves.  They all will need the time tested and proven American technology to serve the consumers from those reserves.

It seems that Gazprom set itself up by bullying the Ukraine and over charging the European Union for gas.  Its newest friend(s) are the leftists in America and if a little lucky – a government agency.  Don’t think for a second that the U.S. EPA’s effort won’t be followed with even more hysterics in Europe. The left in Europe is even less responsible than the Americans.

So get ready – one can fairly expect the old KGB techniques of dis information and mis information to get lots of new sounding out.  It won’t matter much that some five decades have seen fracking in the U.S. with no known human impact other than a low cost steady supply of natural gas.

What’s with America?  Develop a great thing and let extremists and alarmists wreck it?  How does a country get so that one of its government agency’s most closely allied friends is a foreign national petroleum company?

. . . Its little wonder foreign nationals have little respect for Americans . . .

Meanwhile, Poland lost its President in a horrific plane crash Saturday April 10th 2010 in Russia.  For which this writer sends along his condolences.  The crash cut a swath through Poland’s leadership. The 97 dead included the army chief of staff, the head of the National Security Office, the national bank president, the deputy foreign minister, the deputy parliament speaker, the civil rights commissioner and other members of parliament.

“A shiver of repulsion ran through a shocked Poland,” might say it best.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was careful to emphasize recent improvements in relations between Russia and Poland in an address shortly after the crash.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said in 2005, “Poland needs to reconsider its mistakes. But more than that, it needs a consensus based on truth.”

If Poland can hold that thought on truth it can best honor President Kaczynski and save both Americans and Europeans from themselves and help persuade Russia that relations based in the truth will be better for her as well.


Comments

8 Comments so far

  1. Matt Musson on April 16, 2010 6:32 AM

    Let me reiterate your statements about fracking technology is not environmentally harmful. It takes place thousands of feet below the water table!

    But, opponents point to polluted well water near fracturing sites and immediately indict the process.

    The wells may be polluted. But it was not the fracturing the did it!

  2. polandtoday on April 25, 2010 5:48 AM

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