Saudi Aramco and majority Russian government-owned gas producer Gazprom have agreed to establish a joint body to expand cooperation in the natural gas sector.

The two companies will set up a coordination committee for implementing terms agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in October 2017 during the visit of King Salman bin Abdulaziz to Russia.

The decision to form the committee was taken during a meeting on 18 April between Gazprom CEO, Alexei Miller; Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Khalid Al-Falih; and Aramco CEO, Amin Nasser.

‘The talks gave a positive assessment of the prospects for cooperation in the gas sector,’ according to a statement from Gazprom.

The two companies signed the main MoU to explore prospects for cooperation in the exploration, production, transportation and storage of gas, as well as projects for liquefying natural gas.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly considering importing gas from Russia’s Yamal liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic, and is said to be in talks with private Russian gas firm Novatek to partner in the second phase of the project.