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CONSOL Energy Reports Third Quarter Results; Utica Shale Production Increased by 45% Quarter-Over-Quarter; E&P Division Operating Costs Were Lowered to $2.26 Per Mcfe; Closed on Asset Sales Totali

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PR Newswire

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 31, 2017

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) reported net cash provided by operating activities in the just-ended quarter of $178 million, compared to $163 million in the year-earlier quarter, which included $5 million of net cash used in discontinued operating activities. The company reported a net loss attributable to CONSOL Energy shareholders of $26 million, or a loss of $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to CONSOL Energy shareholders of $25 million, or earnings of $0.11 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2016.

Earnings before deducting net interest expense (interest expense less interest income), income taxes and depreciation, depletion and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations¹ were $190 million for the 2017 third quarter, compared to $314 million in the year-earlier quarter.

On a GAAP basis, the third quarter earnings included the following pre-tax items attributable to continuing operations:

Recorded $30 million in gains on assets sales; and
Recorded a $2 million unrealized gain on commodity derivative instruments, related to changes in the fair market value of existing hedges on a mark-to-market basis

After adjusting for certain items, which are described in the footnote to the EBITDA reconciliation table, the company had an adjusted net loss attributable to CONSOL Energy Shareholders¹ in the 2017 third quarter of $36 million, or a loss of $0.15 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations¹ was $168 million for the 2017 third quarter, compared to $158 million in the year-earlier quarter.

"The company has been hard at work during the quarter finalizing the process to separate the gas and coal businesses and recently filed an amended Form 10," commented Nicholas J. DeIuliis, president and CEO. "Our strategic goal of creating two successful, separately-traded, pure play entities is expected to be complete in the coming weeks, and as indicated by the press release this morning, the record and distribution dates have been set for November 15, 2017 and November 28, 2017, respectively. Both of the teams are executing at peak performance; respective company financials and balance sheets are strong; and the future looks bright for both the gas business, which will be renamed CNX Resources Corporation after the separation, and the coal business, which will be renamed CONSOL Energy Inc. after the separation. This is truly a historic time for our company, and once the separation is completed, we are looking forward to focusing 100% of our time and energy on our core operations: as an industry leading pure play Appalachian E&P company. Going into year-end, not only will our businesses be separated, but our E&P operations will be growing substantially, and we will continue to opportunistically buy back shares."

"During the quarter, we had strong operational execution, and we finished slightly above our previously stated production guidance for the third quarter," continued Mr. DeIuliis. "This implies that we expect fourth quarter volumes to be a little over 120 Bcfe based on the midpoint of our full year 2017 production guidance range of 405-415 Bcfe. Our program is heavily weighted in the fourth quarter, and our turn-in-line (TIL) schedule peaks in November. This will help drive an estimated exit rate for the year of around 1.4 Bcfe per day, which will set us up to achieve our 2018 production guidance of 520-550 Bcfe. Also, this production ramp is expected to correspondingly ramp EBITDA higher over the coming quarters, which will naturally de-lever the balance sheet further and help us quickly reach our targeted pro forma net debt to EBITDA leverage ratio of around 2.5x."

During the third quarter, CONSOL Energy received approximately $82 million in proceeds from asset sales, which included the sale of non-core Marcellus Shale acres in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington, and Greene counties, Pennsylvania, for approximately $55 million and surface acres and other miscellaneous non-core assets for approximately $27 million. Including these recent transactions, CONSOL Energy has closed on asset sales totaling $427 million year-to-date. The company continues to pursue the sale of various non-core assets, including its Virginia coalbed methane project area and scattered Marcellus and Utica acres. Despite already being within the full year 2017 asset sale guidance range of $400-$600 million, the company believes that it could enter into agreements for some of these additional asset sale transactions in the fourth quarter.

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During the quarter, CONSOL Energy generated approximately $94 million in free cash flow¹, which included proceeds from sales of assets. In addition to the $286 million of cash on the balance sheet as of the end of the quarter, as part of the spin-off transaction, CONSOL expects to receive a cash distribution from CoalCo of approximately $425 million, net of fees, which the company will use to achieve its targeted leverage ratio. Following the end of the quarter and through October 30, 2017, the company utilized a portion of the $286 million of cash on the balance sheet to repurchase $81 million of its common stock through a Rule 10b5-1 plan under the one-year share repurchase program of up to $450 million, which was recently increased from the original $200 million program.

¹The terms "adjusted net (loss) income attributable to CONSOL Energy Shareholders," "EBITDA from continuing operations," and "adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations" are non-GAAP financial measures, which are defined and reconciled to the GAAP net income below, under the caption "Non-GAAP Financial Measures." The terms "free cash flow," and "organic free cash flow from continuing operations" are non-GAAP financial measures, which are defined and reconciled to the GAAP Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities, also under the caption "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."

E&P Division:

During the third quarter of 2017, CONSOL's E&P Division sold 101.0 Bcfe, or an increase of 5% from the 96.4 Bcfe sold in the year-earlier quarter, driven primarily from Marcellus Shale volumes. Total quarterly production costs decreased to $2.26 per Mcfe, compared to the year-earlier quarter of $2.36 per Mcfe, driven primarily by reductions in operating expense, non-income based taxes and depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A). E&P Division capital expenditures increased in the third quarter to $148 million, compared to $49 million spent in year-earlier quarter.

Marcellus Shale production volumes, including liquids, in the 2017 third quarter were 60.4 Bcfe, approximately 17% higher than the 51.8 Bcfe produced in the 2016 third quarter. The increased production is due to 16 new Marcellus Shale wells coming on line during the quarter. Marcellus total production costs were $2.20 per Mcfe in the just-ended quarter, which is a $0.13 per Mcfe improvement from the third quarter of 2016 of $2.33 per Mcfe, driven by reductions to depreciation, depletion and amortization (DD&A) and production, ad valorem and other fees. The decrease in DD&A is primarily driven by increased reserves.

CONSOL Energy's Utica Shale production volumes, including liquids, in the 2017 third quarter were 20.1 Bcfe, down approximately 11% from 22.5 Bcfe in the year-earlier quarter, which is due to natural production declines in the Ohio wet Utica Shale area. Utica Shale total production costs were $1.91 per Mcfe in the just-ended quarter, which is a $0.10 per Mcfe increase from the third quarter of 2016 total production costs of $1.81 per Mcfe. The cost increase was driven by lower Utica Shale volumes resulting in increased lease operating expense (LOE). Also, Utica Shale DD&A rates increased, in part, due to higher capital costs associated with the initial dry Utica delineation wells in Pennsylvania. These cost increases were partially offset by a decrease in taxes due to an adjustment related to a non-operated area. Despite the year-over-year production decline, quarterly Utica Shale volumes grew 45% from the second quarter of 2017. This quarter-over-quarter growth was driven by Monroe County, Ohio, dry Utica Shale volumes, which grew 476% in the third quarter to 9.8 Bcf, compared to 1.7 Bcf from the second quarter of 2017. For the fourth quarter of 2017, the company expects further growth in Utica Shale volumes to approximately 33.4 Bcfe, or an increase of approximately 66%, compared to the third quarter of 2017. The fourth quarter growth will also be driven by Monroe County, Ohio, dry Utica Shale volumes, which the company expects to increase approximately 125% to approximately 22.0 Bcfe, compared to the third quarter of 2017. With the continued ramp in Monroe County, Ohio, volumes through the remainder of the year, the company expects Utica Shale total production costs to improve to approximately $1.70 per Mcfe in the fourth quarter of 2017.

E&P Division Third Quarter Operations Summary:

In the quarter, CONSOL operated two horizontal rigs and drilled six Greene County, Pennsylvania, Marcellus Shale wells and four Monroe County, Ohio, dry Utica Shale wells. The Marcellus and Utica Shale laterals averaged 9,576 feet and 9,007 feet, respectively. The company averaged 17 days to drill the Marcellus Shale wells, which included two wells that the company drilled in less than 14 days. For the Utica Shale wells, the company averaged 17.4 drilling days, which is a 2% improvement when compared to the second quarter of 2017 and a 10% improvement, compared to the first quarter of 2017.

The company utilized three frac crews and completed 21 wells in the third quarter: five Marcellus Shale wells located in Tyler County, West Virginia; seven Marcellus Shale wells located in Ritchie County, West Virginia; and nine dry Utica Shale wells located in Monroe County, Ohio.

During the quarter, CONSOL turned-in-line 29 wells: seven Marcellus Shale wells located in Ritchie County, West Virginia; four Marcellus Shale wells located in Tyler County, West Virginia; five Marcellus Shale wells and one Burkett Shale well located in Washington County, Pennsylvania; and 12 dry Utica Shale wells in Monroe County, Ohio. The company is on schedule to TIL 15 wells in the fourth quarter of 2017, including its Aikens 5J and 5M dry Utica Shale wells in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

In the quarter, CONSOL Energy continued to improve production and capital efficiency performance in two core areas: the Morris Marcellus Shale field in Greene County, PA, and the Switz Utica Shale field in Monroe County, Ohio. Compared to legacy results, CONSOL Energy increased the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) and capital efficiency in the Morris Marcellus Shale field by 77% and 311%, respectively. Similarly, the company achieved performance results in the Switz Utica Shale field by increasing EURs and capital efficiency by 38% and 258%, respectively. The company delivered these results through drilling and completion (D&C) advancements and reservoir optimization initiatives. Reservoir modeling advancements have driven increased sand loading in each area by 40%-150%, compared to previous designs. Extended laterals combined with increased proppant loading, azimuth optimization, diversion technology, and perforation efficiency have been the key drivers in yielding superior results.

E&P DIVISION RESULTS — Quarter-to-Quarter Comparison

	Quarter			Quarter			Quarter
	Ended			Ended			Ended
	September 30, 2017			September 30, 2016			June 30, 2017
Sales - Gas	$	196.3		$	170.7		$	233.7
Sales - Oil	0.6			0.6			1.1
Sales - NGLs	33.2			27.1			21.6
Sales - Condensate	4.3			7.5			3.9
Total Sales Revenue ($ MM)	$	234.4		$	205.9		$	260.3
Gain (Loss) on Commodity Derivative Instruments - Cash Settlement	17.7			38.6			(32.3)
Total Revenue	$	252.1		$	244.5		$	228.0

Earnings Before Income Tax ($ MM)	$	20.2		$	161.1		$	227.4
Adjusted Earnings (Loss) Before Income Tax ($MM)	$	12.3	¹	$	6.4	²	$	5.7	³
Capital Expenditures ($ MM)	$	147.5		$	48.7		$	142.3

¹Adjusted earnings before income tax for the E&P Division of $12.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017 is calculated as GAAP earnings before income tax of $20.2 million less total pre-tax adjustments of $7.9 million. The $7.9 million of adjustments are $1.5 million of pre-tax gain related to the unrealized gain on commodity derivative instruments, $11.6 million of pre-tax gains on asset sales, a pre-tax charge of $4.8 million related to stock-based compensation and a pre-tax charge of $0.4 million related to severance expense.

²Adjusted earnings before income tax for the E&P Division of $6.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 is calculated as GAAP earnings before income tax of $161.1 million less total pre-tax adjustments of $154.7 million. The $154.7 million adjustment includes a $159.6 million pre-tax gain related to the unrealized gain on commodity derivative instruments, a pre-tax charge of $4.8 million related to stock-based compensation and a pre-tax loss of $0.1 million related to severance expense.

³Adjusted earnings before income tax for the E&P Division of $5.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017 is calculated as GAAP earnings before income tax of $227.4 million less total pre-tax adjustments of $221.7 million. The $221.7 million of adjustments are $116.0 million of pre-tax gain related to the unrealized gain on commodity derivative instruments, $126.7 million of pre-tax gains on asset sales, a pre-tax loss related to $16.9 million in lease expirations and a pre-tax charge of $4.1 million related to stock-based compensation.

CONSOL's E&P Division production in the quarter came from the following categories:

Quarter

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