REUTERS
Production of thermal and coking coal in Ukraine declined by 3.2% in January-April 2017 year-over-year (y-o-y), to 13.069 million tonnes, according to the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry's press service.
State-owned mines alone produced 1.673 million tonnes of coal or 12.8% of the total output over the period under review, while coal production at the state mines fell by 20.6%.
Some 2.709 million tonnes of coal were mined in Ukraine in April 2017, including 343,000 tonnes produced at the state-owned mines.
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, coal production slightly grew by 2.8%, to 40.864 million tonnes.
Read alsoUkraine steps closer toward adopting Energy Strategy until 2035Fighting 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 has been 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, as well as after DTEK lost control in mid-March over its energy units that operate in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, namely DTEK Rovenkyanthracite LLC, DTEK Sverdlovanthracite LLC, and DTEK Mine Komsomolets Donbasa Private Joint-Stock Company (PrJSC).