Officials with South Sudan’s ministry of petroleum signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese National Petroleum Company Wednesday in a bid to boost oil production.

Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau explained, “We have signed an agreement to improve ties between the ministry and CNPC and also improve oil production and build the capacity of our staff by offering staff and engineers training opportunities.”

Deputy CNPC Director Lu Changson said the agreement strengthens cooperation between the two sides.

Oil production in South Sudan currently stands at less than 170,000 barrels per day, down from more than 240,000 barrels per day before the current conflict started a year ago.