ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. energy company, and Eastern European partner Lane Energy Poland plan to drill another exploratory well for natural gas in a Polish shale formation.

Lane Energy this year drilled two vertical wells at its license in northern Poland. The company is now testing the results and getting ready to drill a horizontal well in the same area in the second quarter of 2011 and results should be ready by the end of next year, according to a statement by Kamlesh Parmar, country manager at Lane Energy Poland.

Poland’s reserves of shale and tight gas may be as much as 3 trillion cubic meters, according to estimates by Advanced Resources International. That could potentially turn the country into a net exporter of gas and reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian supplies.

Shale gas in Poland has drawn interest from producers including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. Talisman has three licenses to search for shale in three large blocks in the Baltic basin in northern Poland with San Leon Energy Plc.