Egypt is to receive 12 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil throughout 2018, under the same condition of 2017 agreement between the two countries, Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman, Assem Jihad, officially stated.

The crude will be supplied in six 2-million barrels cargoes every two months starting this January, an official at the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) told Reuters anonymously. Egypt had signed the original agreement with Iraq in April 2017.

“This agreement comes within the framework of strengthening relations between the two countries and their keenness to expand the horizons of bilateral cooperation,” Jihad stated, according to Middle East Monitor.

Egypt recently signed several original agreements to import crude oil to cover its increasing national demands.