Despite Chaco oil and gas cancellation Black Hills Energy still raping Four Corners region

The sign for Black Hills Exploration and Production in Bloomfield, New Mexico was head-snapping on the drive to Chaco Wash.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has canceled an oil and gas lease sale near Chaco Canyon in northern New Mexico until the agency can further review the impact on cultural artifacts in the area. The Bureau of Land Management received 120 protests opposing the March sale.

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Even as prices plummet, Rapid City-based Black Hills Energy remains focused on its substantial oil and natural gas holdings in the Mancos Shale within the San Juan and Piceance basins. The firm is bankrolling water diversions, too.

Black Hills Energy and the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission lubricate each other regularly and after priming the election pump, achieved a May orgasm at the hands of Chris Nelson, Chairman Gary Hanson and Kristie Fiegen.

Regulators and market forces in Colorado are driving the Rapid City-based utility from coal-fired electricity generation, too.