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Case 16-42529 Doc 32 Filed 04/13/16 Entered 04/13/16 11:43:47 Main Document <br />Pg2of21 <br />District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. This is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 <br />U.S.C. § 157(b). Venue is proper before this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1408 and 1409. <br />Backiround <br />2. On April 13, 2016 (the "Petition Date"), the Debtors commenced their <br />reorganization cases by filing voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 the Bankruptcy <br />Code. The Debtors are authorized to continue to operate their businesses and manage their <br />properties as debtors in possession pursuant to sections 1107(a) and 1108 of the Bankruptcy <br />Code. <br />Debtor PEC is a Delaware corporation headquartered in St. Louis, <br />Missouri. PEC was incorporated in 1998 and became a public company in 2001. Each of the <br />other Debtors is a wholly-owned direct or indirect subsidiary of PEC. <br />4. PEC is the world's largest private -sector coal company (by volume), with <br />26 active coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia. The Debtors' <br />domestic mines produce and sell thermal coal, which is primarily purchased by electricity <br />generators. PEC's Australian operations mine both thermal and metallurgical coal, a majority of <br />which is exported to international customers. As of December 31, 2015, Debtor PEC and its <br />subsidiaries' property holdings include 6.3 billion tons of proven and probable coal reserves and <br />approximately 500,000 acres of surface property through ownership and lease agreements. In <br />the United States alone, as of December 31, 2015, the Debtors held an estimated 5.5 billion tons <br />of proven and probable coal reserves, and the Debtors generated sales of approximately 180 <br />million tons of coal. In addition to its mining operations, the Debtors market and broker coal <br />from other coal producers across the United States, Australia, Europe and Asia. <br />The Debtors operate in a competitive and highly regulated industry that <br />has experienced strong headwinds and precipitously declining demand and pricing in recent <br />-2- <br />