NEW YORK — SunCoke Energy Inc. expects its fourth-quarter 2012 domestic coke production to total about 1.1 million tons, up 6.6 percent from the same year-ago period, the company said Tuesday.

Full-year coke production is estimated to reach more than 4.3 million tons, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, it said.

"Our total U.S. coke-making capacity utilization was 101 percent and 102 percent in the fourth quarter and full-year 2012, respectively," the Lisle, Ill.-based company said.

SunCoke’s facility in Middletown, Ohio, which began production in 2011, accounted for much for the increase.

Also on Tuesday, SunCoke subsidiary SunCoke Energy Partners LP confirmed that it launched an initial public offering (IPO) for 13.5 million common share units to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The partnership will grant underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,025,000 common share units at the IPO price.

The common share units represent a 43-percent limited partner interest in the partnership, or a 49-percent limited partner interest if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units in full.

The partnership will own a 60-percent stake in SunCoke Energy’s Haverhill and Middletown coke production facilities, both in Ohio.

The revenue generated by the IPO will be used to fund the expansion of SunCoke’s coke production facilities in North America and overseas.