Saudi Aramco and Russia’s Lukoil are considering a partnership for two natural gas projects in Uzbekistan, Reuters reported.

This partnership would come in line with a protocol that was signed by Saudi Arabi and Russia at the last meeting of the intergovernmental commission in mid-June to initiate joint projects in the fields of oil and gas, petrochemicals, and nuclear energy, according to S&P Global.

During the meeting, the Russian side presented a number of project proposals that are being studied by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden).

Bilateral cooperation in energy, oil and gas exploration and services, liquified natural gas (LNG), petrochemicals, and other fields increased since the two countries reached a crude oil production cut agreement in 2016.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) are considering a $659-million project to produce equipment to mechanize oil production.

Moreover, the two sides previously discussed the construction of three or more nuclear power plants with Russian reactors.