NTEC signs MOU to start fugitive methane study near Navajo Mine

FARMINGTON, N.M. – Navajo Transitional Energy Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Koveva Ltd. to begin a fugitive methane study in areas near Navajo Mine.

Koveva is an energy company based in Carbondale, Colorado, that believes in empowering communities by identifying and harnessing energy sources that are located near communities.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Koveva that will help Navajo Transitional Energy Company understand the role fugitive methane has on and near Navajo Mine. We will have some answers to our role in the ongoing debate regarding fugitive methane in our area,” said Clark Moseley, NTEC CEO.

NTEC and Koveva’s work will determine whether methane is escaping into the atmosphere on or near Navajo Mine, and if so, whether it can be captured economically to benefit nearby communities and potentially be used as an energy resource such as generating electricity.

This study is funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation through Koveva. Neither entity hold an interest in NTEC.

The MOU was signed in early May.

“We are excited to see this project start to come together and happy that NTEC is going to be part of a study that will help answer some questions regarding fugitive methane on the Navajo Nation portion of the San Juan Basin,” said Dr. Taku Ide, Koveva CEO.

The first phase of the study begins in May is scheduled to end in January of 2017. The study will be performed on the Navajo Nation in the San Juan Basin. Ide says during that time, fugitive methane will be identified and quantified. The second phase will identify potential for capturing and using the methane.
 
Koveva has established partnerships with Dine College and Navajo Technical University to employ professors and Navajo college students to collect, analyze, and interpret the data.

“One of the goals of this project is to allow Navajo students to understand what is happening on the Navajo Nation in terms of energy,” said Sam Woods, NTEC business development manager.

Ide agreed.

“We want to empower the students such that they will have the tools to monitor and evaluate their environment and to and develop new methods for using their energy resources,” Ide said.

Ide said the San Juan Basin’s geological formations can naturally vent methane to the atmosphere. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Bureau of Land Management have studied methane seepages along the outcrops in the Colorado portion of the San Juan Basin since the 1990s and anecdotal evidences of methane seepages predate large scale coalbed methane production activities in the basin. However, new areas of seepage and increase seepage rates in some areas have also been observed and are being monitored. 

While comprehensive studies have been performed in the area, studies never detailed methane seepage quantification along the coal outcrops of the San Juan Basin in the Navajo Nation.  Currently, it is unknown how much, if any, methane is escaping from NTEC lease boundaries. The study will collect data that should help to determine whether coal mining operations are contributing to the escape of methane to the atmosphere, but of equal importance the study will determine whether there is potential for capturing fugitive methane and using it as an energy resource, Ide stated. 

“In any given area containing coal resources, there exists potentials for methane seepage from coal outcrops and through faults and fractures, regardless of whether there is a mine in the area. Extractive industries are often quickly blamed, but natural emissions of methane have been observed and measured. It is our job to understand if there is any methane escaping at all from areas in this study, if so, why, and whether it can be used as an energy resource.” Ide said.

“NTEC’s leadership and vision to capture and use fugitive methane that may be found during this study, for the benefit of communities and to reduce their carbon footprint, is highly commendable,” Ide added.

Woods said the MOU for the study is an opportunity for NTEC to be proactive about some of the issues about methane in the San Juan Basin.

“Part of NTEC’s future will include cleaner energy projects that could involve natural gas. This study will shed light on fugitive methane and provide some real world solutions as to how we may be able to use fugitive methane,” Woods said.

Koveva plans to implement pedestrian methane flux surveys to gain data about methane seepage rate and quantity. Dine College and Navajo Technical University students will be conducting the surveys.

Ide plans to partner with other Navajo agencies and companies to gain more access to active and abandoned wells and mines in the San Juan Basin.

“As we look forward to new projects, we have to think about our immediate surroundings as well,” Moseley said. “The potential for capturing fugitive methane exists, so we have to see if that is an energy form we can harness and put it to responsible use.”

About NTEC and Koveva: NTEC is a single member limited liability company organized under the laws of the Navajo Nation that purchased the BHP Navajo Mine, located on the Navajo Nation south of Fruitland, New Mexico. The mission of NTEC is to be a reliable, safe producer of coal, while diversifying the Navajo Nation’s energy resources to create economic sustainability for the Nation and the Navajo people.

Koveva is a business development firm in the energy sector that believes in the future of the distributed energy market, where energy is produced and consumed locally. They help communities and corporations convert uncaptured energy sources into useful forms, and align assets of traditional fossil fuel companies with the distributed energy market model.