WARSAW: US energy major Chevron Corp said it will stop exploring for shale gas in Poland, a sector that has failed to live up to its early promise of transforming eastern Europe’s energy supplies.
Chevron’s Polish unit “has decided to discontinue shale gas operations in Poland as the opportunities here no longer compete favourably with other opportunities in Chevron’s global portfolio”, the company said in a statement.
Exxon Mobil, Total and Marathon Oil have also stopped shale gas exploration in Poland over the past three years.
Meanwhile, oil prices rallied on Friday following the sharpest weekly drop in US oil rig count in nearly 30 years, while the dollar index ended January with its longest run of gains since the greenback was floated in 1971.
In a rally that may spur speculation that a seven-month price collapse has ended, US crude futures jumped 8.3 percent to settle at $48.24 a barrel and Brent crude shot up 7.9 percent to settle at $52.99, its biggest one-day gain since 2009. Sparking the rally was data that showed drillers were cutting back on shale activity. Reuters
