I didn’t see any of those details in the article. Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, the Obama administration doesn’t like coal?
You didn’t see it? Its right there in the excerpt:
“Under rules in place since the 1980s, companies can sell the fuel to affiliates and pay royalties to the government on that price, then turn around and sell the coal at higher prices, often overseas”
What I described is exactly what that sentence is telling you.