South Sudan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Equatorial Guinea to regulate the oil and gas relationships between the two African countries, World Oil reported.

According to Premium Times, the MoC was signed by Equatorial Guinea’s Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbon, Gabriel Lima, and South Sudan’s Minister of Petroleum, Ezekiel Gatkuoth.

The partnership between the two nations will allow both parties to exchange information on policy and regulation; promote upstream, downstream and infrastructure projects; and improve the collaboration between the national oil companies Nilepet and GEPetrol.

Gatkuoth commented: “The petroleum industry is crucial to our nation’s development. This agreement signals our dedication to investing in the sector as a driver for South Sudan’s growth.”

Lima further added: “Going forward, Equatorial Guinea will work closely with South Sudan for the benefit of our people and our national economies.”

Both countries bring decades of oil production experience to the table. South Sudan is currently working to more than double oil output to 290,000b/d, while Equatorial Guinea is nearing the close of its EG Ronda 2016 licensing round.