Sasol holds talks with Uzbekistan regarding coal and gas projects

South African energy and chemicals group Sasol is engaged in preliminary discussions with Uzbekistan to expand industrial cooperation. Following a meeting in Tashkent on October 21, 2026, between Sasol Vice President Lawrence Jacobs and Uzbekistan’s First Deputy Minister of Mining and Geology Feruza Khamidova, the parties discussed technology cooperation and the development of coal resources.

The discussions build upon earlier meetings held in March 2026, where Sasol executives and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov, explored potential involvement in a Coal-to-Olefins (CTO) project. This initiative aims to convert coal into olefins, which serve as essential raw materials for the plastics and chemical industries.

While Sasol already maintains a technology partnership in the country through the Uzbekistan GTL complex—which uses the company’s Slurry Phase Distillate technology to convert natural gas into liquid fuels—no formal contracts or investment decisions have been finalized regarding these new coal-related proposals.