These improvements were offset in part by a loss of production at the Buchanan Mine due to an equipment breakdown that has been repaired.

Northern Appalachian mines produced 4.1Mt, Central Appalachian mines 1Mt for a total of 5.1Mt.

Consol improved gas production by 16.7% period-to-period, despite lower gas production from gob wells that were adversely affected by the disruption in production at Buchanan Mine. Electricity production was lower in the period-to-period comparison because milder temperatures during the 2004 period affected demand for peak electrical power.

In other news, the company expects to file its Form 10K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on March 12, 2004.

For the year ending December 31, 2003, the company will report a net loss of $US7.8 million instead of a net loss of $US11.8 million, reported previously on January 28, 2004. The change resulted from the finalization of year-end tax accruals. There was no effect on the pre-tax loss previously reported.