First shipment of Pennsylvania thermal coal to depart for Ukraine this week

Officials with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), XCoal and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch recently celebrated the milestone of the first shipment of Pennsylvania thermal coal to Ukraine.

According to the DOE, the shipment will depart from the Port of Baltimore later this week and will arrive in Ukraine in September.

“U.S. coal will be a secure and reliable energy source for Centrenergo and its electricity customers,” Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said. “This shipment will boost both of our country’s economies by supporting jobs in the coal and transportation industries.”

Wells Griffith, DOE’s Acting Assistant Secretary of International Affairs recently toured the Port of Baltimore’s loading facility followed by a press briefing to mark the historic first shipment. Griffith was joined by DOC’s Acting Under Secretary for International Trade Administration (ITA) Israel Hernandez, Ukrainian Ambassador Valeriy Chaly, and company executives from XCoal.

“The department and this administration look forward to making available even more of our abundant natural resources to allies like Ukraine in the future to promote their own energy security through diversity of supply and source,” Perry said.”