REUTERS
Production of thermal and coking coal in Ukraine increased by 13.7% in January 2017 year-over-year (y-o-y), to 3.659 million tonnes, according to the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry's press service.
State-owned mines alone produced 466,500 tonnes of coal over the period under review, which was 0.7% down from January 2016. The share of the state mines was 12.7% of total production, the press service said.
During the reporting period, production of scarce coal grades "A" (anthracite) and "T" (lean coal) in temporarily occupied territory grew by 49%, to 913,100 tonnes. DTEK Rovenkyanthracite boosted anthracite production by 59%, to 348,600 tonnes, while DTEK Sverdlovanthracite increased output by 36.7%, to 260,000 tonnes. Production of lean coal at DTEK Komsomolets Donbassa grew by 49%, to 304,500 tonnes.
Read alsoPM Groysman asks security council to address "coal blockade"As UNIAN reported earlier, production of thermal and coking coal in Ukraine in 2015 shrank by 37.5%, to 39.76 million tonnes, against 65 million tonnes in 2014 due to hostilities in Donbas. In 2016, the production increased by 2.8%, to 40.864 million tonnes.
UNIAN memo. Fighting in the eastern regions of Ukraine has caused a significant shortage of coal, primarily that of thermal anthracite produced in militant-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Thus, the deficit of coal affects the operation of power plants, which have to reduce their capacity. In order to provide the smooth operation of the power grids, anthracite was imported from South Africa. However, the issue of coal shipments to thermal power plants critically arose after the launch of a blockade of trade with the occupied areas in late January 2017.