Eastern Europe Seeks to Diversify Energy Supply

In the New York Times article "Eastern Europe, Seeking Energy Security, Turns to Shale Gas", published on May 11, 2010, Judy Dempsey discusses the recent exploration into the field of shale gas as an alternative energy source. Eastern European countries are currently looking into mining for shale gas in the Polish regions of the Baltic, Podlasie, and Lublin Basin. The countries that would benefit from any significant shale findings are all seeking increased energy security and independence from Russian oil. Poland also wants to link pipelines with Western Europe in order to protect the supply of energy from shortages, like the Russia-Ukraine energy disputes in 2005 and 2008.

This desire for separation from the Russian oil market does not bode well for the Russian economy, as an increasing amount of business is shifted to alternative energy sources. Foreign investors no longer feel comfortable with the rocky Russian oil supply, and therefore Russia is going to definitely need to diversify its economy to ensure no economic downturn in the near future do to shifting oil demands.