The US coal industry has entered a “new chapter” as mounting stockpiles and plummeting natural gas prices have turned the page to a leaner, more consolidated industry, a panel of industry leaders said Thursday at IHS CERAWeek. Mounting coal stockpiles and cheap natural gas are coal’s biggest near-term challenges, but larger hurdles include transitioning away from baseload fuel status and gaining access to capital in a time of industry consolidation, panelists said. Coal’s challenges will not be easily overcome, said Andy Blumenfeld, Arch Coal’s vice president of analysis and strategy. Blumenfeld expects to see increased industry consolidation, particularly in the low-cost Illinois and Powder River basins. Production, which totaled 896 million st in 2015, could drop as much as 200 million st this year, Blumenfeld said, citing US Energy Information Administration data. The final production total could be more than the 696 million st the EIA is projecting, but […]