Alpha Natural Resources said it has sold substantially all of the assets of two separate operations, a coal mining complex and a natural gas operation in central West Virginia.
Alpha said its New River Energy natural gas operation is being sold to Kentucky- based Kinzer Drilling. The divestiture includes 120 producing natural gas wells in five counties.
The Green Valley mining assets in Nicholas and Greenbrier Counties are being sold to Quinwood Coal Company. The divestiture includes the Number 1 preparation plant and related permits, which have been idle since the second quarter of 2014.
Alpha CEO David Stetson said the divestments go toward reducing Alpha’s footprint. “With these significant divestitures, we will transfer 28 mining-related permits, reduce surety bonding by approximately $3.5 million, eliminate future reclamation spending at these sites, and further reduce our annual holding cost for inactive and idle properties by approximately $1.1 million,” Stetson said.
“Additionally, $2.7 million in self bonding will be eliminated as part of these sales, which will assist ANR in meeting its obligations to the State of West Virginia.”
Stetson added, “As with previous divestitures, Alpha has been able to enter into agreements with third parties that have indicated a desire to restart these operations and restore many jobs to the local community.”
Alpha Natural Resources is primarily a coal producer with affiliate mining operations in West Virginia and Kentucky, supplying metallurgical coal to the steel industry and thermal coal to generate power. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in August of 2015. It emerged in July of 2016. The company sold other natural gas assets at bid in May of 2016 at auction.
West Virginia’s energy reserves
West Virginia is the eighth-largest natural gas-producing state in the nation. Shale wells account for more than three-fourths of the state’s production, the agency said. West Virginia’s shale gas reserves exceeded 28 trillion cubic feet in 2014, the EIA said.
West Virginia is the second-largest coal producer in the nation, after Wyoming, the EIA said. Although coal underlies 53 of the state’s 55 counties, only 43 counties have economically recoverable reserves.
