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Acquisitions and Dispositions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS: [Abstract]  
Acquisitions and Dispositions:
ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS:
In December 2013, CONSOL Energy acquired the gas drilling rights to approximately 90,000 contiguous acres from Dominion Transmission, a unit of Dominion Resources. The acreage, which is associated with Dominion’s Fink-Kennedy, Lost Creek, and Racket Newberne gas storage fields in West Virginia, lies in the northern portion of Lewis County and the southern portion of Harrison County. CONSOL anticipates that over one-half of the acres will have wet gas. CONSOL Energy has acquired the gas rights to both the Marcellus Shale and the Upper Devonian formations in the storage fields. Consideration of up to $190 million will be paid by CONSOL Energy in two installments: 50% was paid at closing and the balance is due over time as the acres are drilled.  In addition, CONSOL Energy will pay an overriding royalty to Dominion Resources based on a sliding scale. Finally, CONSOL Energy has committed to be an anchor shipper on Dominion’s transmission system, with the specific terms to be negotiated at a future date. Noble Energy, our joint venture partner, acquired 50% of the acres and accordingly will reimburse CONSOL Energy for 50% of the associated costs. CONSOL Energy paid $91,243 in 2013 related to this transaction.
 
In August 2013, CONSOL Energy completed the sale of its 50% interest in the CONSOL Energy/Devon Energy joint venture in Alberta, Canada. The properties and coal leases included were those related to Grassy Mountain, Bellevue, Adanac, and Lynx Creek (Crowsnest Pass). Cash proceeds for the sale were $24,764. A gain of $15,260 was included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income.

In June 2013, CONSOL Energy completed the sale of Potomac coal reserves in Grant and Tucker Counties in West Virginia. Cash proceeds for the sale were $25,000. A gain of $24,663 was included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income.    

In April 2013, the Company and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Commonwealth) entered into a Settlement Agreement and Release settling all of the Commonwealth's claims regarding the Ryerson Park Dam (Dam) and the Ryerson Park Lake (Lake). The Settlement provided, in part, for the payment to the Commonwealth of $36,000 for use to rebuild the Dam and restore the Lake with $13,728 of the settlement amount credited to lease bonus and royalty payments on the Commonwealth's Marcellus gas interests within the Park, subject to the Company's agreement to extract the gas from surface facilities located outside of the boundaries of the Park.  The Settlement also provided, in part, for the conveyance by the Company to the Commonwealth of eight surface parcels containing approximately 506 acres of land adjoining the Park after the parcels are no longer needed for the Company's operations and the conveyance by the Commonwealth to the Company of certain coal and mining rights in an area of the Bailey Mine where a mining permit application is currently pending.

In March 2013, CNX Gas Company LLC (CNX Gas Company), a wholly owned subsidiary of CONSOL Energy, completed negotiations with the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates the Pittsburgh International Airport and the Allegheny County Airport, for the lease of the oil and gas rights on approximately 9.3 thousand acres.  A majority of these contiguous acres are in the liquids area of the Marcellus Shale play.  CNX Gas Company paid $46,315 as an up-front bonus payment at closing.  Approximately 7.6% of the bonus payment was placed into escrow while negotiations continue for a portion of the acres associated with the Allegheny County Airport and other acres that have potentially defective title.  CNX Gas Company must spud a well by February 21, 2015 and proceed with due diligence to complete the well or the lease terminates and CNX Gas Company forgoes the bonus. Our joint venture partner, Noble Energy Inc., has acquired a 50% interest in the acreage and accordingly, reimbursed CNX Gas Company for 50% of the associated costs during the year ended December 31, 2013.

In January 2013, CONSOL Energy completed a sale-leaseback of longwall shields for the Bailey Mine. Cash proceeds for the sale were $71,166. A loss of $358 was recognized due to transaction fees and was included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income. The lease has been accounted for as an operating lease. The lease term is five years.

On December 21, 2012, CONSOL Energy completed the disposition of its non-producing Ram River & Scurry Ram assets in Western Canada which consisted of 36 thousand acres of coal lands. In December 2012, cash proceeds of $51,869 were received related to this transaction. These proceeds were net of $637 in transaction fees. Additionally, a note receivable was recognized in 2012 related to the two additional cash payments to be received in June 2013 and June 2014. Payment of $25,500 was received in June 2013. A note receivable of $24,500 was included in Accounts and Notes Receivables - Notes Receivables in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2013. The gain on the transaction was $89,943 and was included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2012.

On June 29, 2012, CONSOL Energy completed the disposition of its non-producing Northern Powder River Basin assets in southern Montana and northern Wyoming for cash proceeds of $169,500. The assets consisted of CONSOL Energy's 50% interest in Youngs Creek Mining Company LLC, CONSOL Energy's 50% interest in CX Ranch and related properties in and around Sheridan, Wyoming. The gain on the transaction was $150,677 and is included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2012. Additionally, CONSOL Energy retained an 8% production royalty interest on approximately 200 million tons of permitted fee coal.

On April 4, 2012, CONSOL Energy completed the disposition of its non-producing Elk Creek property in southern West Virginia, which consisted of 20 thousand acres of coal lands and surface rights, for proceeds of $26,000. The gain on the transaction was $11,235 and is included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2012.

On February 9, 2012, CONSOL Energy completed the disposition of its Burning Star No. 4 property in Illinois, which consisted of 4.3 thousand acres of coal lands and surface rights, for proceeds of $13,023. The gain on the transaction was $11,261 and is included in Other Income in the Consolidated Statement of Income for the year ended December 31, 2012.

On September 30 2011, CNX Gas Company and Noble formed CONE Gathering LLC (CONE), a joint venture established to develop and operate each company's gas gathering system needs in the Marcellus Shale play. CNX Gas Company's 50% ownership interest in CONE is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. CNX Gas contributed its existing Marcellus Shale gathering infrastructure which had a net book value of $119,740 and Noble contributed cash of approximately $67,545. CONE made a cash distribution to CNX Gas in the amount of $67,545. The cash proceeds were recorded as cash inflows of $59,870 and $7,675 in Distributions from Equity Affiliates and Proceeds from the Sale of Assets, respectively, on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow. The gain on the transaction was $7,161 and was recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income as Other Income for the year ended December 31, 2011.

On September 21, 2011, CONSOL Energy entered into an agreement with Antero Resources Appalachian Corp. (Antero), pursuant to which CONSOL Energy assigned to Antero overriding royalty interests (ORRI) of approximately 7% in approximately 116 thousand net acres of Marcellus Shale located in nine counties in southwestern Pennsylvania and north central West Virginia, in exchange for proceeds of $193,000 before transaction fees of $2,619. The net gain on the transaction was $41,057 and was recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Income as Other Income for the year ended December 31, 2011.