Ukraine's DTEK boosts energy exports, coal output

KIEV Aug 28 (Reuters) - Ukraine's largest private power and coal producer DTEK said on Tuesday it had doubled its energy exports in the first half of the year to 4.3 billion kilowatt-hours.

DTEK said in a statement it had boosted sales thanks to exports to Poland and Belarus.

DTEK, part of the empire of Ukraine's richest businessman Rinat Akhmetov, accounts for about 29 percent of the country's thermal power generation. It also controls about 46 percent of Ukraine's coal production and about 43 percent of power distribution.

The company said it had produced 25.6 billion kilowatt-hours of energy in the first half of 2012, 53.8 percent more than in the same period in 2011.

It also raised coal production by 75.3 percent in the first half to 20.0 million tonnes from 11.4 million tonnes in January-June 2011.

Ukraine produced 50.3 million tonnes of coal and 116 billion kilowatt-hours of energy in the first half of 2012, Energy Ministry data showed. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)