"One Who Leads the Way"
Hallador Energy Company has been an innovative leader in energy sourcing since 1951. The name Hallador is loosely translated as “one who leads the way” in Portuguese, reinforcing the company strategy of positioning for long-term opportunities.
Hallador was founded as The Kimbark Company, Ltd. in July 1951 by a small group of geologists and business professionals. Its focus was oil and gas exploration and development, along with acquisition. The company continued to grow over the next 30 years through various partnerships and limited partnerships, despite numerous energy economic downturns in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1981, its various business entities were consolidated as Kimbark Oil & Gas Company, a Colorado corporation. In 1989, Kimbark merged with California-based Hallador Exploration Company to become Hallador Energy Company.
The new Hallador Energy Company developed and sold land plays, drilled and operated multiple wells, and entered into a limited partnership with Savoy Oil & Gas, a Michigan oil company. With new management steering the company forward and determined to succeed, Hallador purchased the South Cuyama Oil and Gas Field in Santa Barbara County, California, in 1990. Hallador operated the South Cuyama field until 2004 when it was sold for $23 million as oil prices hit a record high.
Transition to a Leading Coal Producer
Hallador changed its focus from oil and gas to coal production, boosted by healthy reserves from the sale of the South Cuyama field. In July 2006, Hallador entered into a joint venture with Sunrise Coal, LLC, an Indiana coal mining company, acquiring a 60% stake in Sunrise for $20.5 million. By September 2009, Sunrise Coal would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hallador and its major revenue stream. Sunrise’s first coal-producing mine was the Carlisle mine, with the capacity to produce 3 million tons of coal annually. The Carlisle mine closed in 2019.
They were driven to acquire additional coal leases and permitted reserves. In 2012, Sunrise Coal acquired Ace-in-Hole Mine, a small surface mine capable of producing 300,000 tons per year that were instrumental in winning contracts for customers in need of low sulfur coal.
In 2014, Hallador purchased Vectren Fuels, tripling the size of the company. Before the Vectren acquisition, Sunrise produced 3.3 million tons of coal each year. After the addition, the total annual production capacity increased to 10 million tons per year, and Sunrise became the fourth largest coal producer in the Illinois Basin. Today, Sunrise is the second-largest coal producer in Indiana.
The Future
Hallador Energy continues to acquire and develop new mines and explore new opportunities as a provider in the evolving field of energy. Since 1951, we have been singularly focused on finding the next opportunity to serve your energy needs. We look forward to what the future brings for our customers, our employees, our shareholders, and the communities we serve.