'Harbinger of the End of Fossil Fuel Era'? US Coal Giant May File Bankruptcy

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/03/16/harbinger-end-fossil-fuel-era-us-coal-giant-may-file-bankruptcy

Peabody Energy, the biggest producer of coal in the U.S., announced Wednesday that it may have to seek bankruptcy protection.

The company "had a total debt of $6.3 billion at the end of 2015," Reuters reports, and its "shares have crashed from their record high of more than $1,300 in 2008 to $4.01 as of Tuesday's close, reflecting the downturn in the coal market over the past few years."

"If we are not able to timely, successfully or efficiently implement the strategies that we are pursuing to improve our operating performance and financial position, obtain alternative sources of capital or otherwise meet our liquidity needs, we may need to voluntarily seek protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code," the company said in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company also states in that it "skipped a $71.1 million interest payment on its senior notes, kicking off a 30-day grace period," Fortune magazine reports.

The filing also follows a warning by federal regulators last month that Peabody, which is also a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, may be in violation of mining law. That's because the company continues "to extract coal while failing to meet the criteria for self-bonding," referring to a company's ability to secure its own assets for future mine clean-up rather than posting collateral for those expenses, as the Casper Star Tribune reported.


http://www.metrolyrics.com/paradise-lyrics-john-prine.html

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

[newfie11]

1. I'm delighted to see this

But I'm sorry for the many people loosing their jobs.
I once asked a patient that worked for Black Thunder coal mine how long it would last.
She said hundreds of years as there was so much. That was 10 years ago and no one thought of the environment.
Eastern Wyoming was very dependent on the big coal mines and gas.
When we lived near Scottsbluff NE there were 22 coal trains a day going down that line.
Times are tough in eastern Wy and ND right now.
While I'm so very sorry for the job loss and disruption, I'm delighted this hopefully is going to an end.

[eridani]

2. That's why we have to get green jobs on line ASAP n/t

[PeteyPal]

3. I live in Guernsey, WY...

and an employee at BNSF railroad told me that there were 40 coal trains that went through town not long ago. Now there are only 20. I grew up in West Virginia and it is sad to see how the coal companies have destroyed such a beautiful environment.

[FBaggins]

4. It's hard to call it the end of the fossil fuel era...

... when it's the result of one fossil fuel replacing another.

And, of course, the fact that there's a difference between coal mining and the profitability of the coal mining company. If they go bankrupt, someone else will buy those assets and continue mining.

[NickB79]

5. Except coal is dying because we're BURNING FUCKING FRACKED NATURAL GAS INSTEAD!

And there is NO, NONE, ZILCH planetary benefit of burning fracked natural gas: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/fracking-to-prompt-sharp-rise-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-study-says-a6928126.html

Fracking is set to lead to a sharp rise in emissions of climate changing greenhouse gases, newly undermining industry and government claims that shale gas is a relatively clean fuel that can help combat global warming, an authoritative new study reveals

[eridani]

7. Treu--Fracking Now Responsible For Half Of US Oil Output

http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2016/03/fracking-now-responsible-half-us-oil-output

U.S. energy officials estimate that fracking accounts for a majority of the nation's crude oil output for the first time.

The Energy Information Administration said that fracking accounted for just 2 percent of overall production as recently as 2000. As of 2015, that share climbed to 51 percent.

The boom in hydraulic fracturing — which involves cracking shale rock formations with a high-pressure combination of sand, water and chemicals to access the oil or gas within — coincided with the fastest increase in production in U.S. history.

Energy companies operated an estimated 300,000 fracking wells last year and produced 4.3 million barrels per day, up from 23,000 wells and 102,000 barrels per day 15 years ago.

[eridani]

6. Most of the Coal Mined by the Biggest Coal Companies in the U.S. Belongs to the American Public

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/17/most-coal-mined-biggest-coal-companies-us-belongs-american-public

Coal mining companies attack our efforts to address climate change, often calling federal policies aimed at cutting pollution and promoting renewable energy a “war on coal.” But in reality, some of the biggest coal companies — like Peabody Energy — have actually grown because of their access to subsidized federal coal.

This coal is owned by the American public, but until recently, the Interior Department mostly allowed the coal industry itself to manage our coal, turning the federal coal program into little more than corporate welfare for coal. And the biggest coal companies, which have also done the most to delay climate and clean air policies, actually depend on federal coal most of all.
In fact, data published in a new report today shows that most of the coal mined by the three biggest coal companies in the United States belongs to the American public.

Using data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we calculated the amount of federal coal mined in 2014 by Peabody Energy, Arch Coal, and Cloud Peak Energy, and compared those figures to each company’s total U.S. coal production. The results show that federal coal accounted for 68 percent of the total coal mined in the U.S. by Peabody Energy, 83 percent for Arch Coal, and 88 percent for Cloud Peak Energy.

Fortunately, earlier this year the Obama administration announced a moratorium on new coal leasing and a comprehensive review of the federal coal program. As Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and others in the Obama administration conduct that review, they will need to contend with the current corporate control of publicly-owned coal.