Baltic Sea gas drilling ignites tension between Poland and Germany
The British company Zenith Energy has completed test drilling at Wolin East-1 in the Baltic Sea. Preliminary data suggest there could be as much as 16.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas in the region. This development might incite a dispute with Germany, which was not consulted about the initiative.
According to the industry service offshore-energy.biz, Zenith Energy concluded the 70-day drilling project at Wolin East-1, conducted for the Canadian company Central European Petroleum (CEP). This marks the first drilling under the Wolin concession, granted to CEP by the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment in 2017.
Drilling in the Baltic Sea: Wolin's gas potential
CEP President Rolf Skaar previously emphasised that preliminary data indicate the potential presence of up to 16.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas. "Thanks to our extensive experience with similar drillings throughout Europe, the entire Wolin East-1 operation was completed as planned. We will now conduct a thorough analysis of all data obtained during the drilling, which will take several months," said Skaar, as quoted by Oilfield Technology. He noted that the preliminary verification of measurements appears promising.
Gas drilling in the Baltic Sea is causing tensions between Poland and Germany. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Minister of Environment, Till Backhaus, criticised the Polish authorities for not consulting on this matter. German environmental authorities believe that actions with potential ecological consequences require prior notification of neighbouring countries. The Polish side maintains that the concession was issued in accordance with its national regulations.
"The Polish government is in the process of destroying the protected Wolin Baltic Sea coast – with dramatic consequences for the Pomeranian Bay and the people who live and work here. serious accidents involving oil and LNG tankers and towers producing toxic mixtures of gas and oil would turn the entire Pomeranian Bay into a cesspool," reads an appeal on the website of Bürgerinitiative Lebensraum Vorpommern, a civic initiative for the living space in Western Pomerania.
The company believes that Wolin will become an important natural gas area, featuring a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, the Police petrochemical complex, and a future ship refuelling system.
