Discontinued Operations (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2016

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations, Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 2—DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS:

In August 2016, CONSOL Energy completed the sale of its Miller Creek Mining Complex and Fola Mining Complex subsidiaries. In the transaction, the buyer acquired the Miller Creek and Fola assets and assumed the Miller Creek and Fola mine closing and reclamation liabilities; in order to equalize the value exchange, CONSOL Energy paid $28,271 cash at closing, which included property taxes associated with the properties sold and other closing costs (a portion of which will be held in escrow for purposes of obtaining the surety bonds required for the the permits to transfer). These amounts were included in Net Cash Provided by Discontinued Investing Activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow. In addition, CONSOL Energy will pay a total of $17,200 in installments over the next four years. The net loss on sale of $53,130, excluding the related impairment charge discussed below, was included in Loss from Discontinued Operations, net on the Consolidated Statements of Income. Prior to the closing, the Miller Creek and Fola Mining Complexes were classified as held for sale in discontinued operations and in accordance with the accounting guidance for Property, Plant and Equipment, assets held for sale are required to be measured at the lower of the carrying value or fair value less costs to sell. Upon meeting the assets held for sale criteria, the Company determined the carrying value of the Miller Creek and Fola Mining Complexes exceeded the fair value less costs to sell. As a result, an impairment charge of $355,681 was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2016. This impairment is included in the Loss from Discontinued Operations, net on the Consolidated Statements of Income.

In March 2016, CONSOL Energy completed the sale of its membership interests in CONSOL Buchanan Mining Company, LLC (BMC), which owned and operated the Buchanan Mine located in Mavisdale, Virginia; various assets relating to the Amonate Mining Complex located in Amonate, Virginia; Russell County, Virginia coal reserves and Pangburn Shaner Fallowfield coal reserves located in Southwestern, Pennsylvania to Coronado IV LLC ("Coronado"). Various CONSOL Energy assets were excluded from the sale including coalbed methane, natural gas and minerals other than coal, current assets of BMC, certain coal seams, certain surface rights, and the Amonate Preparation Plant. Coronado assumed only specified liabilities and various CONSOL Energy liabilities were excluded and not assumed. The excluded liabilities included BMC’s indebtedness, trade payables and liabilities arising prior to closing, as well as the liabilities of the subsidiaries other than BMC which are parties to the sale. In addition, the buyer agreed to pay CONSOL Energy for Buchanan Mine coal sold outside the U.S. and Canada during the five years following closing a royalty of 20% of any excess of the gross sales price per ton over the following amounts: (1) year one, $75.00 per ton; (2) year two, $78.75 per ton; (3) year three, $82.69 per ton; (4) year four, $86.82 per ton; (5) year five, $91.16 per ton. At closing, the parties entered into several agreements including, among others, agreements relating to the coordination and conduct of gas operations at the mines, an option to purchase the Amonate Preparation Plant and transition services. Cash proceeds of $402,799 were received at closing and are included in Net Cash Provided by Discontinued Investing Activities on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow. The net loss on the sale was $38,364 and was included in Loss from Discontinued Operations, net on the Consolidated Statements of Income.

For all periods presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income, BMC along with the various other assets and the Miller Creek and Fola Mining Complexes are classified as discontinued operations.

The following table details selected financial information for the divested business included within discontinued operations:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2016			2015			2014
Coal Sales	$	102,904		$	367,234		$	426,263
Freight-Outside Coal	1,322			5,098			5,015
Miscellaneous Other Income	740			51			2,635
(Loss) Gain on Sale of Assets	(91,785		)	336			(6,640		)
Total Revenue and Other Income	$	13,181		$	372,719		$	427,273
Total Costs	134,248			395,913			431,344
Loss From Operations Before Income Taxes	$	(121,067	)	$	(23,194	)	$	(4,071	)
Impairment on Assets Held for Sale	355,681			—			—
Income Tax Benefit	(173,565		)	(8,985		)	(2,214		)
Loss From Discontinued Operations, net	$	(303,183	)	$	(14,209	)	$	(1,857	)

The major classes of assets and liabilities of discontinued operations:

	December 31, 2016		December 31, 2015
Assets:
Accounts Receivable - Trade	$	83	$	49,125
Inventories	—		30,646
Prepaid Expense	—		970
Other Current Assets	—		364
Total Current Assets	$	83	$	81,105
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	—		936,671
Other Assets	—		4,044
Total Assets of Discontinued Operations	$	83	$	1,021,820
Liabilities:
Accounts Payable	$	36	$	20,786
Other Current Liabilities	6,014		30,728
Total Current Liabilities	$	6,050	$	51,514
Long Term Debt	—		5,001
Pneumoconiosis Benefits	—		1,129
Mine Closing	—		71,941
Reclamation	—		34,126
Other liabilities	—		792
Total Liabilities of Discontinued Operations	$	6,050	$	164,503