Consol mulls coal unit sale, spin-out

US fossil fuels producer Consol Energy is considering selling or spinning out its coal business as early as this year, the Pittsburgh-based energy company announced in its fourth-quarter earnings release on Tuesday. The plan is another step in the company’s strategy to separate its coal business from its natural gas operations, which had seen Consol spin out some of its coal assets in 2015 to form CNX Coal Resources.