Coastal Completes Sale of Coal Operations

Houston-based Coastal Corp. said it completed the sale of its Western coal operations for $615 million in cash to a venture owned by Atlantic Richfield Co. and Japan’s Itochu Corp. Coastal said the sale allowed it to pay down debt and focus on petroleum exploration and production, as well as natural gas transmission. The sale included Coastal’s Utah mines and a 9% stake in the Los Angeles Export Terminal Co., which is building a terminal in the Port of Los Angeles to ship coal to Pacific Rim countries. Coastal’s Western coal business includes about 300 million tons of reserves and sold 9.8 million tons of coal in 1995, mostly to the Pacific Rim. Shares in Coastal were unchanged at $50, while shares of Los Angeles-based Arco rose $1.25 to close at $136.375. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.