© Reuters / Kacper PempelA drilling rig is seen at sunset at Grabowiec 6 near the village of Lesniowice, southeast Poland
The Polish government said it will offer 6-year tax breaks for shale gas companies in an effort to fast track investment and exploration. The announcement comes as energy tension with Russia run high over Ukraine.
The new tax break is aimed at helping Poland attract foreign companies to explore and invest in the country's shale oil reserves, believed to be the largest in Europe, according to data by the US Energy Information Administration.
The tax break will be
"a huge incentive" to get investors interested and on the ground, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, adding that by 2020 taxes
"shouldn't exceed 40 percent of extraction income."Between 2020-2029, the new incentives will contribute up to $5 billion in revenue, according to Tusk.
The proposal will be sent to parliament within two weeks, and the prime minister hopes it will pass without any hiccups.
Earlier in February, Poland ditched plans to use a state company to explore for shale gas, instead deciding to auction off licenses to foreign companies. Exxon Mobil and Marathon Oil are both interested in the country's shale industry. Some state-controlled companies have also won licenses for exploration.
Maciej Grabowski, Poland's environment minister, expects the country's first commercial shale gas well to be drilled this year, and hopes to have over 200 wells in the next few years. The country wants to become an exporter, and not an importer of natural gas.
Comment: Every time this guy opens his mouth a little piece of the truth is murdered in broad daylight. When a man who belongs in a padded cell is Secretary of State, you know politics has become a total freak show.