JOHANNESBURG, Sept 20 (Reuters) – South African petrochemicals company Sasol and state power utility Eskom said on Friday they had agreed to jointly explore ways the country could use liquefied natural gas (LNG).

As the country’s two biggest users of coal, Sasol and Eskom are major polluters and so are central to the country’s efforts to transition to cleaner energy sources.

Eskom is hoping to build on a recent improvement in its plant performance, after years of imposing power cuts.

“The collaboration aims to determine the potential volumes that South Africa requires to establish a viable LNG import market along with the enabling infrastructure, and will be facilitated by government-to-government relations where necessary,” the two companies said in a statement.

“This initiative focuses on using gas for power generation to provide essential base load electricity and position gas as a key enabler of re-industrialisation,” they added.

Asked at a news conference which governments South Africa could approach to source LNG, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Qatar was near the top of the list.

“Qatar is top of the food chain because of the historic relations that Sasol enjoys with Qatar, and also the amount of reserves that they have,” Ramokgopa said.

Sasol and Eskom did not give a specific timeframe or potential joint projects on Friday.

(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Frances Kerry)