CONSOL Energy and Verdeo Group to Develop First Large Coal Mine Ventilation Air Methane Abatement Project in West Virginia

    PITTSBURGH  -- CONSOL Energy Inc. has joined with Verdeo Group, Inc., to develop the first project to destroy ventilation air methane ("VAM") emissions at an active West Virginia coal mine.

    The project, which will be located at CONSOL's McElroy Mine near Glen Easton in Marshall County, will demonstrate significant reductions of emissions of methane -- a potent greenhouse gas ("GHG") -- in a safe and proven manner, and without any impact on mine operations or production. It will be the first time the technology will be deployed at an active coal mine in West Virginia, and among the largest such projects of its kind in the U.S. to date.

    "Companies will require a wide range of tools and incentives to effectively reduce GHG emissions," said Steve Winberg, CONSOL's Vice President of Research and Development. "CONSOL Energy has committed to utilize as much of its coal mine methane resources as possible. This project will allow us to abate a dilute source of methane that has no commercial value and would otherwise be vented into the atmosphere."

    Methane gas is inherent in coal seams and is liberated during the mining process. Coal mines control underground methane emissions through the use of ventilation systems, which circulate large quantities of fresh air through the mine to dilute the methane, and then exhaust the VAM to the surface of the mine and to the atmosphere. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, VAM represents the largest source of GHG emissions from U.S. coal mines.

    The project will utilize regenerative thermal oxidation ("RTO") technology to destroy the GHG emissions from the McElroy Mine. RTO technology has been successfully deployed in industrial process applications for many decades and this project will test the ability to use the equipment at a commercial scale in the mining sector. To date, several technology installations have been employed in the U.S. at facilities, including a coal mine, that fall under the jurisdiction of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

    "This project is a stepping stone to utilizing this commercially available equipment on our other mines, reducing our overall methane emissions and potentially creating carbon offset credits," Winberg added.

    As a result of the emergence of trading markets for GHG emission reductions, voluntary initiatives like the McElroy VAM project can generate revenue from the sale of carbon offset credits. The value of these credits enables mine operators such as CONSOL to secure capital from companies like Verdeo to pay for the RTO technology. The carbon offset credits generated from the VAM oxidation project at the McElroy Mine will be registered with the Climate Action Reserve, a leading pre-compliance certification program in the U.S. that approved a protocol for coal mine methane projects in 2009.

    Development efforts between CONSOL and Verdeo are actively underway. The project is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2011.

    For more information about CONSOL, visit www.consolenergy.com .

CONSOL Energy Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income of $143.2 Million; Record Annual 2009 Net Income of $539.7 Million

    PITTSBURGH  -- CONSOL Energy Inc., a producer of metallurgical coal, high-Btu thermal coal, and natural gas in West Virginia and throughout Appalachia, reported net income attributable to CONSOL Energy shareholders for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 of $143.2 million, or .78 per dilutive share. This is lower than the net income attributable to CONSOL Energy shareholders of $176.3 million, or .97 per dilutive share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. The quarter ended December 31, 2008, however, included a gain of .20 per share due to a refund for black lung excise tax.

    Annual 2009 net income attributable to CONSOL Energy shareholders was $539.7 million, or $2.95 per dilutive share, compared to $442.5 million, or $2.40 per dilutive share, in 2008. The annual 2009 net income was the highest for any year in CONSOL's +140-year history, except for 2005, when a large gain was recorded from the sale of CNX Gas stock. This is the second consecutive year in which CONSOL has had record net income.

    "CONSOL Energy had an outstanding year in a weak economic environment," said J. Brett Harvey, president and chief executive officer. "We also gained momentum in the fourth quarter. Demand for all three of our products is improving, due to rising world-wide economic activity and the recent favorable weather. 2010 looks more promising than I thought possible only three months ago.

    "An important development in the last quarter was the arrangement we established with Xcoal to market CONSOL coal in Asia. On January 11, we sold a Panamax vessel of high-vol coking coal from Bailey Mine in Northern Appalachia to merchant coke plants in China. And as we announced separately this morning, we sold another 5 cargos of Northern Appalachia high-vol coking coal into Asian markets. Penetration of Northern Appalachia coal into the high-vol coking coal market has meaningful implications for CONSOL's earnings in 2010 and beyond."

    Total Revenue and Other Income was $1,238.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, or nearly even with the $1,242.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. Although revenue from our thermal coal business was higher, met coal revenue and gas revenue were lower.

    CONSOL Energy Inc., a high-Btu bituminous coal and natural gas company, is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and the Fortune 500. At year-end 2009, it had 11 bituminous coal mining complexes in six states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.5 billion tons. It is also a majority owner of CNX Gas Corporation, a leading Appalachian gas producer, with proved reserves of over 1.9 trillion cubic feet. Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com .