Stalled

A sharp drop in natural gas prices and recent weakness in oil prices hasn’t stalled too much U.S. exploration and production (E&P) spending, which is expected to jump by 9.6% to $143 billion this year, according to 239 domestic producers surveyed by Dahlman Rose & Co.

A proposed natural gas-fired repowering project, stalled in 2011, has been restarted by the California Energy Commission (CEC) for NRG Energy Inc.’s 100-acre Encina generation facility in Carlsbad, CA. NRG proposes to build a 558 MW gas-fired combined-cycle plant on part of the existing site (see Daily GPI, July 5, 2011; May 23, 2011). The CEC granted a motion from the Center for Biological Diversity to reopen the proceeding and hear new evidence about environmental concerns, which has been completed. NRG plans to build the $500 million gas-fired plant on 23 acres of the existing Encina site and to retire three existing steam boiler units when the Carlsbad Energy Center project becomes operational.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved Enbridge Bakken Pipeline Co. Inc.’s plans to build the 77-mile Bakken Pipeline Project Canada, which would connect to the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (EPI) Mainline and carry crude oil from the Bakken Shale to North American refinery markets.

With the prospect for thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs, legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate Wednesday to speed up a final federal decision on the stalled C$7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline proposed to run from Alberta, Canada to Gulf of Mexico (GOM) refineries in the United States.

Even with their plans stalled for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) along the Pacific Northwest coast, the backers of the limited partnership behind the Jordan Cove LNG project at Coos Bay, OR, said Wednesday they have purchased the project’s 200-acre Ingram Yard site from Weyerhaeuser NR Co., which carries with it an option to acquire an additional 120 acres for the eventual development of a gas-fired electric generation plant.

Calpine Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it made a $673 million bet — $373 million credit facility and $300 million in stock repurchases — on itself and a long-stalled upgrade of a natural gas-fired generation plant in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Underlying a new credit facility is the belief that the recessionary economy — particularly in California — is going to turn around.

After the rally stalled on Monday as traders instead tested downside support, natural gas futures bulls on Tuesday once again pressed the upside, scoring a 14.7-cent gain to close the day’s regular session at $4.449. Commodities on the whole showed impressive strength with June crude futures picking up 35 cents to close at $58.85/bbl.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) again is stalled in its efforts to allow drilling in parts of southeastern Utah after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent completing a recent lease sale.

With California facing a $42 billion budget deficit, the state’s year-old law (AB 118) to boost alternative fuel vehicles may be stalled.