Aug. 26, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) today announced that ARLP has entered into a new coal supply agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority which will increase ARLP's annual coal supply to TVA by an additional two million tons per year beginning in 2010. Under the new agreement, beginning next year, ARLP will deliver five million tons of coal per year from its Illinois Basin operations to TVA over the next seven years. Under the terms of the new agreement, the parties may extend deliveries of five million tons per year for up to an additional seven years beyond the initial term.
“TVA has been an important customer to ARLP for many years and this new agreement further strengthens the long standing relationship between our companies,” said Joseph W. Craft III, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This new agreement reflects the importance our customers place on securing a reliable supply of low-chlorine, high-sulfur coal.”
ARLP is contractually committed and priced for substantially all of its anticipated 2009 coal production of 25.9 to 26.4 million tons. With the new TVA agreement, ARLP has now secured sales commitments for approximately 27.6 million tons, 27.3 million tons and 20.4 million tons in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. Approximately 1.0 million tons of the 2012 coal sales commitments remain open to market pricing.
This announcement is intended to be a qualified notice under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b), with 100% of the partnership’s distributions to foreign investors attributable to income that is effectively connected with a United States trade or business. Accordingly, ARLP’s distributions to foreign investors are subject to federal income tax withholding at the highest applicable tax rate.
About Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
ARLP is a diversified producer and marketer of coal to major United States utilities and industrial users. ARLP, the nation's only publicly traded master limited partnership involved in the production and marketing of coal, is currently the fifth largest coal producer in the eastern United States with operations in all major eastern coalfields. ARLP currently operates eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia. We are constructing two new mining complexes, one in Kentucky and one in West Virginia, and also operate a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana.
News, unit prices and additional information about ARLP, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are available at http://www.arlp.com. For more information, contact the investor relations department of ARLP at (918) 295-7674 or via e-mail at investorrelations@arlp.com.
The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations.
