PITTSBURGH, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CNX Gas Corporation (NYSE: CXG) has leased nearly 40,000 acres having Marcellus Shale potential in two separate transactions. These transactions raise the total acres held by CNX Gas in this play to 230,000 acres.

In the first transaction, CNX Gas has leased 20,000 largely contiguous acres from NiSource Energy Ventures, LLC, a subsidiary of Columbia Energy Group, in Washington and Greene counties, in Pennsylvania, and in Marshall County, in West Virginia.

"It is unusual in Appalachia to be able to lease such a large parcel from a single lessor," said J. Brett Harvey, chairman and chief executive officer of CNX Gas, "We are excited about this acreage because it is in close proximity to our existing Marcellus Shale program, which has been very successful in its early stages."

In the second transaction, CNX Gas has leased 20,000 acres from its majority owner, CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX). These acres, though not contiguous, are generally located in and around CONSOL's coal operations in Washington and Greene counties, in Pennsylvania and in Marshall, Monongalia and Wetzel counties, in West Virginia. These acres were acquired by CONSOL Energy in connection with its mining operations, after the sale of CNX Gas common stock in 2005.

"The acres in the second transaction, though somewhat scattered, will significantly improve our footprint in what we believe is a key area for the future growth of CNX Gas," Harvey noted. "When combined with the acres from the first transaction, they have the potential to provide CNX Gas with many hundreds of additional Marcellus Shale drilling sites in an area where we have averaged about 3.5 Bcf in proved reserves per horizontal well for each of the first eight wells drilled." Harvey added that the results of micro-seismic data analysis have enabled CNX Gas to begin utilizing approximately 40-acre well spacing for the horizontal Marcellus Shale program.

"Speaking for CONSOL Energy," Harvey added, "we're clearly excited about increasing the size of CNX Gas' Marcellus Shale position during this time of low gas prices. We expect to continue to spend capital to acquire acreage, so that we can accelerate drilling once gas prices rebound."

CNX Gas will be providing an update on its operations when it releases second quarter results on July 30, before the market opens. A call, conducted jointly with CONSOL Energy, will be held at 10:00 a.m. eastern time, and can be accessed on the investor relations portion of the company's web site, at www.cnxgas.com.

Description

CNX GAS CORPORATION is the leading gas producer in the Appalachian Basin, when measured by revenue, net income, and safety. CNX Gas is a CONSOL Energy company.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Various statements in this document, including those that express a belief, expectation, or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements (as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). The forward-looking statements may include projections and estimates concerning the timing and success of specific projects, our future production, revenues, income and capital spending. When we use the words "believe," "intend," "expect," "may," "should," "anticipate," "could," "would," "will," "estimate," "plan," "predict," "project," or their negatives, or other similar expressions, the statements which include those words are usually forward-looking statements. When we describe strategy that involves risks or uncertainties, we are making forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this document speak only as of the date of this document; we disclaim any obligation to update these statements unless required by securities law, and we caution you not to rely on them unduly. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to: our business strategy; our financial position, cash flow and liquidity; the deteriorating economic conditions in the United States and globally; declines in the prices we receive for our gas affecting our operating results and cash flow; uncertainties in estimating our gas reserves and replacing our gas reserves; uncertainties in exploring for and producing gas; our inability to obtain additional financing necessary in order to fund our operations, capital expenditures and to meet our other obligations; disruptions to, capacity constraints in or other limitations on the pipeline systems which deliver our gas; the cost of disposing of water from our coalbed methane and Marcellus Shale gas wells; the cost of removing impurities from the gas we produce; the availability of personnel and equipment, including our inability to retain and attract key personnel; increased costs; the effects of government regulation, permitting and other legal requirements; legal uncertainties regarding the ownership of the coalbed methane estate, and costs associated with perfecting title for gas rights in some of our properties; litigation concerning real property rights, intellectual property rights, royalty calculations and other matters; our relationships and arrangements with CONSOL Energy; and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 under "Risk Factors," as updated by any subsequent Form 10-Qs, which are on file at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE CNX Gas Corporation

CONTACT:
Dan Zajdel
Vice President - Investor Relations
+1-724-485-4169
danzajdel@consolenergy.com
or Thomas F. Hoffman
Senior Vice President, CONSOL Energy Inc.
+1-724-485-4060
Web Site: http://www.cnxgas.com/