Foresight Reserves

From Global Energy Monitor

Foresight Reserves LLC is a private company primarily owned by Chris Cline. Cline estimates that mining rights to his 4 billion tons of Illinois coal are worth at least $3 billion. Dennis Kostic, president of the consulting firm Weir International, puts the value at $4 billion. Cline exports 40 percent of his coal, mainly to Europe, and increasingly to China and India.[1]

On February 2, 2012, Foresight Energy Partners LP said it planned to sell up to an estimated $100 million of common units in an initial public offering, to make a distribution to Foresight Reserves, and plans to have its common units listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FELP.[2]

History

Cline bought Appalachia coal before U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) required the installation of scrubbers on newer coal plants to lower sulfur dioxide emissions. Demand for high-sulfur Appalachia coal rose, and Cline raised $1.2 billion to build coal mines.[1]

Coal Mines

Pond Creek was Cline's first Illinois mine, and uses longwall mining. Other mines include Sugar Camp and Hillsboro. According to a 2010 article in Bloomberg, Cline is buying locomotives, building a port on the Ohio River, and designing his own oceangoing ships to expand the company's coal mining operations.[1]

CEO Chris Cline

Cline has tried to distribute literature at his childrens' school suggesting that climate change may be caused by clusters of sunspots or the Earth wobbling on its axis, not just carbon. When the school refused due to lack of scientific support for these theories, he complained to school fundraisers. He calls coal "a moral imperative" for the world's poor, and describes Massey Energy's Don Blankenship, CEO during the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, as one of the coal industry’s "most talented leaders."[1]

Affiliations and Mines

The following companies and mines have been directly or indirectly affiliated with Chris Cline:

Coal Transport

In June 2011, Canadian National Railway said it will sell assets of its indirect subsidiary, IC RailMarine Terminal Co, for $73 million to an affiliate of Foresight Energy and the Cline Group. CN also said it had entered a related 10-year coal transportation agreement with another affiliate of Foresight and Cline - Savatran LLC - to increase its participation in the growing export of Illinois Basin coal.

Foresight Energy has about 3 billion tons of coal reserves and coal production from four mining complexes in Illinois. The IC RailMarine terminal, which is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River at Convent, Louisiana, stores and transfers bulk commodities and liquids globally between rail, ship and barge. Foresight said it will double the capacity of the terminal to 8 million tons of export coal per year, with the potential for an additional expansion of 8 million tons

CN said it will enter the rail transportation agreement with Savatran LLC after the terminal deal closes. The coal transportation agreement entails hauling of coal from four Illinois mines to the Convent transfer facility. Under the terms of the deal, Savatran will ship a minimum annual volume of coal via CN.[18]

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 John Lippert and Mario Parker, "Billionaire Cline Talks Clean as Coal Mines Supply Most Energy Since 1970" Bloomberg, Oct. 11, 2010.
  2. "Coal Miner Foresight Energy Partners Plans $100M IPO Of Units" Wall Street Journal, Feb. 2, 2012.
  3. "Form 4: Satement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership," U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, May 22, 2009.
  4. "Gatling investing $75 million in mine facility," Pomeroy Daily Sentinel, accessed October 12, 2010
  5. Portfolio: Foresight Reserves, LP, The Carlyle Group, accessed October 12, 2010.
  6. "Illinois Basin Coal’s Potential Export Into High-Priced European Market," Gerson Lehrman Group, October 15, 2007
  7. "Cline Resource and Development Company," Mantra, accessed October 12, 2010.
  8. Portfolio: Foresight Reserves, LP, The Carlyle Group, accessed October 12, 2010.
  9. "Foresight Energy LLC" Corporation Wiki, accessed October 12, 2010.
  10. "Gatling High Sulfur Coal Mine under Construction in West Virginia Will Supply Nearby Power Plant, an Industrial Info News Alert," Business Wire, March 24, 2006
  11. "Gatling Ohio responds to rumors about mine, Point Pleasant Register, accessed October 12, 2010
  12. John L. Lewis, "ExxonMobil sells Monterey coal mine – Will new owners keep the Union?" Union News, January 27, 2009
  13. "NRP Enters Into an Agreement With The Cline Group to Acquire Significant Coal Reserves and Coal Transportation Assets," Red Orbit, December 14, 2006.
  14. Portfolio: Foresight Reserves, LP, The Carlyle Group, accessed October 12, 2010.
  15. John L. Lewis, "ExxonMobil sells Monterey coal mine – Will new owners keep the Union?" Union News, January 27, 2009
  16. "Gatling investing $75 million in mine facility," Pomeroy Daily Sentinel, accessed October 12, 2010
  17. Gatling Ohio responds to rumors about mine, Point Pleasant Register, accessed October 12, 2010
  18. "CN to sell IC RailMarine Terminal's assets to Raven Energy" Progressive Railroading, June 16, 2011.

Related GEM.wiki articles

External Articles

  • John Lippert and Mario Parker, "Coal's comeback", Washington Post, October 31, 2010. (This is a Bloomberg News story).
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