What is CONSOL Energy?
Mr. Hoffman: We are a coal and natural gas producer. We produce high- Btu, high-energy content bituminous coal, and we are the largest producer of bituminous coal in the US. We are a natural gas producer, primarily coalbed methane gas largely from Virginia, and we are the second largest gas producer in Appalachia at the moment. We are 140 years old. We started during the Civil War, and for most of that time we’ve been a mining company. But in the last five or six years, we’ve been rapidly developing our natural gas business as well. We are mostly in the east. We have one mine west of the Mississippi, but by and large our operations are large underground mines concentrated in Appalachia in several states, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and east Kentucky being the primary states where we have operations. Our gas business is concentrated primarily in Virginia. TWST: What is your current outlook for coal-based energy? What did you see five years ago that tilted you toward also inclu
