Energy Security or Energy Governance? Legal and Political Aspects of Sustainable Exploration of Shale Gas in Poland

This paper analyses prospects for an institutional
structure to govern and ensure environmentally
sustainable exploration of unconvent
ional (shale) gas in Poland. Shale gas developments in the United
States (US) ignited a widespread policy and law deba
te in Europe about the prospects of emerging
fuel. In Poland, the debate has developed particular
ly high expectations on both the Government and
the Public’s side, ascribed to future exploratio
n and production of unconventional gas from shale
formations. To ensure a balance between ener
gy security prerogatives and resource governance
responsibilities, Warsaw has sought to organise a t
op-down approach to shale gas exploration in
Poland with an enhanced role-playing of the Govern
ment and its respective Ministries, particularly the
Ministry of Environment in absence of an Energy Mini
stry proper. What can be referred to as a state-
centric model toward exploration of shale gas,
the Polish case study evidences opportunities as well as
challenges in replicating the US’s revolutionary g
as production developments and it continues to have
an impact on embryonic structure of energy govern
ance in Poland. Utilising theories of politicisation
and governance, the paper argues that the state-cen
tric approach to the emerging resource may be
inadequate to initiate a large-scale energy security
change the country longs for. The state-centric
approach and lack of a robust le
gal framework may have been the ke
y challenges to the rise of shale
gas momentum which peaked in early 2010s. Exodus
of key commercial actors from the Polish market
in the last couple of years may harbinger inevita
ble decline of future shale gas exploration and
production as much needed financial and t
echnological stimulus may be lacking.