Photo by: Bloomberg
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – US-based fossil fuels producer Consol Energy on Friday said it would, in 2014, lean more heavily on natural gas production than before, as it aimed at boosting output from its Marcellus Shale segment.
Consol said it expected its 2014 gas output to range between 215-billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) and 235 Bcfe (net to Consol), compared with the total of 172.4 Bcfe produced in 2013.
The company’s Marcellus Shale segment was expected to produce between 107 Bcfe and 109 Bcfe in 2014, or 87% more than the 57.8 Bcfe produced in 2013.
The NYSE-listed firm said it expected total coal output to range between 30.1-million and 32.1-million tons. Buchanan Mine's first full year of production was estimated at 4.2-million to 4.7-million tons. The total 2013 coal output was 28.5-million tons, including 4.7-million tons from Buchanan, compared with 2012 coal output totalling 27.2-million tons. Consol noted that all coal tons were restated to reflect the sale of five mines in the fourth quarter.
Consol late last year entered into a “transformative” $3.5-billion deal through which it sold five West Virginia thermal coal mines to closely held Murray Energy, one of the biggest transactions in recent years in the coal sector.
Consol had previously said the mines sold included some of its oldest and most expensive operations, and that it would keep its cheaper coal mines in Pennsylvania and Virginia, while it was positioning to take advantage of the booming US natural gas market.
Consol on Wednesday said that it had chosen Chesapeake Energy executive Timothy Dugan as the new COO for its exploration and production division.