A Canadian energy company announced last week that it had discovered a large oil deposit near Poland's Baltic Sea coast.

The presence of oil and gas in and around the Baltic Sea comes as no surprise to Estonian geologists.

Geologist Kalle-Mart Suuroja said the fossil fuels discovered this week off the Polish coast were the result of a planned survey. According to Suuroja, the chance of finding oil and gas along Estonia's Baltic coast is vanishingly small, as the thin layer of sedimentary rock does not create favorable conditions. He added that for this reason, the fossil fuels found on the seafloor in this region are essentially out of reach.

"Of course, it's always sensible to study the seafloor, but this shouldn't be aimed at fossil fuels exploration," Suuroja said.

Alvar Soesoo, scientific adviser at the Estonian Geological Survey, nevertheless called on the Estonian state to invest in relevant seafloor research. He urged caution regarding the potential development of the Polish deposit.

"Perhaps the biggest concern is that the Baltic Sea is quite a sensitive ecosystem and the deposit was found just six kilometers from the Polish shore, in waters that are not very deep — only up to ten meters. So it's easy to begin extraction there, but I still feel it shouldn't be developed precisely because it's located in the sea, in the Baltic Sea. I wouldn't recommend drilling for oil in the Baltic at this point in time," said Soesoo.

Economic expert Raivo Vare believes that the so-called shadow fleet of Russian tankers in the Baltic poses a greater threat than oil drilling, as accidental spills from those ships could lead to a far more serious ecological disaster. Vare is confident the Polish deposit will be developed.

"The thing is, very few new deposits have been discovered in Europe recently and those that have been are generally shut down due to the green agenda. But this is one of those cases where no one really doubts it will be developed. The only question is how quickly and to what extent," Vare said.

He noted that 22 million tons of oil, while significant, is a relatively small quantity in the broader context.

"Let's put it this way: all told, it's just a fraction. It might not even cover Poland's full annual demand. So yes, it will help, but it's not decisive and it certainly can't compare to North Sea production levels, nor will it be enough to significantly reduce imports," Vare said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!