Navajo

Days after news broke that the Trump administration is reportedly considering extending a lifeline to struggling coal and nuclear power plants on national security grounds, two cabinet departments appear to be taking the proposed directive as bonafide marching orders.

In an area with more than a century of oil and natural gas development mixed with the Navajo Nation, increased exploration and production (E&P) activity spurred by increased hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is raising newfound concerns among local residents in the Four Corners area of northwestern New Mexico.

The Navajo Nation Council on Tuesday approved an agreement to continue operating the massive Navajo Generating Stations (NGS) in Arizona through 2019, after which the plant would be retired, another closure related to cheap natural gas supply.

While most analysts think it is a long shot, President Trump’s vocal promises to revive the U.S. coal industry could cause his administration to take a shot at reversing coal bans in California and several other western states under the theory that they violate the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The four non-government utilities that own most of Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona, as expected, decided Monday to push for the plant’s continuing operations through the next three years. However, they could walk away from the 2,250 MW coal-fired plant by the end of this year rather than the end of 2019, when an existing lease with the Navajo Nation expires.

Utility owners of the massive coal-fired Navajo Generating Station (NGS) were scheduled to meet in Phoenix Monday, and the fate of a bygone era for power generation could be on the chopping block, another casualty of the impact today’s cheap, abundant U.S. natural gas supplies have had on the once-dominant coal-fired electricity sector. Decommissioning the plant is one of the options being considered.

Native Americans claim they were unable to add input in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) negotiations on the final rules that will regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and gas operations on public lands. Absent this input, some of the tribal leaders claimed the rules could impede their ability to develop their energy resources.

El Paso reported a force majeure event on its North Mainline as the result of a leak on Line 1201 upstream of Navajo Compressor Station. Assessment of the leak and subsequent repair requires not only isolation of Line 1201 but also isolation of a portion of Lines 1204 and 1208, thus restricting operations in the area to only Line 1200, El Paso said. As a result, North Mainline capacity was reduced to 1,165 MMcf/d until further notice, representing an approximate reduction of 370 MMcf/d, or 25%, based upon Cycle 2 scheduled quantities for Wednesday. See the bulletin board for further details.

A subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners LP has purchased a 70% stake in the Rio Grande Pipeline, a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipe, from HEP Navajo Southern LP. The purchase price was not disclosed.