PITTSBURGH, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) has updated its coal production guidance that was provided on July 27, 2006. The company reports production for the quarter just ended of 15.3 million tons, compared with the production guidance range given in July of 16.1 million to 17.1 million tons. The company, however, is reiterating production guidance for its fourth quarter ending December 31, 2006 to be between 17.0 million and 18.0 million tons.
The company's full year production is now expected to be between 68.5 million and 69.5 million tons, compared with earlier guidance of 69.3 million to 71.3 million tons.
The production revision for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 resulted from a combination of factors that include geological conditions at several mines that resulted in falls on major beltlines during the high humidity season as well as sandstone and rock intrusions in the area being mined. At the start of the fourth quarter, effected mines have returned to expected production levels.
The company also elected to reduce production at its Jones Fork and Mill Creek mines in Kentucky because of soft market conditions.
The company expects to report third quarter 2006 results before the stock market opens on Thursday, October 26.
CONSOL Energy Inc., a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index, has annual revenues of $3.8 billion. It has 15 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states. In addition, the company is a majority shareholder in one of the largest U.S. producers of coalbed methane gas, CNX Gas Corporation. CONSOL Energy was named one of America's most admired companies in 2005 by Fortune magazine. It received the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining National Award for Excellence in Surface Mining for the company's innovative reclamation practices in 2002 and 2003. Also in 2003, the company was listed in Information Week magazine's "Information Week 500" list for its information technology operations. In 2002, the company received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Protection Award. Additional information about the company can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this news release regarding CONSOL Energy's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
Source: CONSOL Energy Inc.
