January 30, 2011

Report: Chevron plans to exit coal mining business

By Dan Lowrey
Multinational energy company Chevron Corp. said it is exiting the coal industry because new clean coal technologies are too far off to make it a profitable investment, according to a Jan. 28 report by the Associated Press.
Chevron Mining spokeswoman Margaret Lejuste told the AP the company has begun seeking a buyer for its Kemmerer surface mine in Lincoln County, Wyo. Kemmerer produced 4.8 million tons of coal in 2010, according to the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.
Lejuste also said Chevron may consider selling reclaimed land around its closed McKinley surface mine in New Mexico, which the company shuttered at the end of 2009 when it was unable to find customers for its last remaining coal reserves.
In 2010, the company made a deal with Walter Energy Inc. to sell its North River steam coal mine in Fayette and Tuscaloosa counties, Ala. The Walter Energy deal is close to being completed, the AP reported.
The company also owns a 50 percent interest in Youngs Creek Mining Co. LLC, a joint venture that it formed in 2007 with CONSOL Energy Inc. to develop a large coal reserve in the northern Powder River Basin.
At year-end 2009, Chevron controlled about 193 million tons of proven and probable coal reserves in the United States, including reserves of low-sulfur coal, according to the company's February 2010 Form 10-K filing.

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