PITTSBURGH _ Consol Energy Inc. posted another quarter of losses while highlighting its successes in paying down debt and bringing down the costs of its oil, gas and coal mining operations.
The company, headquartered outside Pittsburgh, reported a second-quarter net loss of $468.6 million, $2.05 per share for the past three months, narrowing its loss from a year ago, when it had negative income of $603.3 million, or $2.64 per share.
Revenue decreased to $285.8 million from $545.6 million in the year-ago quarter.
The company said it will resume drilling new wells _ ending a halt announced in the fall of 2015 due to low natural gas prices.
The new drilling will focus mainly on the Utica Shale in Ohio, but will also yield two new wells in the Marcellus in Washington County, Pa.
The price that Consol was able to get for its oil and gas deteriorated further in the past quarter. The company fetched $1.58 per thousand cubic feet of gas in the past three months, a 22 percent drop from the same time last year. The price of oil dropped as well, but Consol did see a small improvement in the prices of natural gas liquids and condensate during the quarter.
Consol compensated for the price drops by further cutting its operating costs.
The price of coal sold from Consol's Bailey mine complex in southwestern Pennsylvania decreased as well from $56.21 per ton in the second quarter of 2015 to $40.61 per ton during the past three months. While the cost to produce the coal decreased as well, it wasn't enough to fully make up for the drop.
The company, proud that it hasn't followed its peers who have chosen to sell more of their stock to raise money during the oil and gas downturn, stressed its progress in paying down debt and reducing its capital budget, even as it plans to add two rigs for the remainder of the year.
On Monday, Consol announced it would pay a Kentucky company $44 million to get rid of two West Virginia mines, Miller Creek and Fola. The deal absolves Consol of the environmental liabilities of closing and reclaiming the mines.
