Mustafa Sanalla, the head of Libya's National Oil Corp., and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak recently held talks about possibly increasing partnerships with Russian companies for oil and gas exploration.

The Vienna meeting, which occurred during a conference between members and non-members of OPEC, was covered in a Sept. 23 article in the Libya Herald.

In addition to joining forces for energy development, the discussion also reportedly touched on an alliance between the two countries to enhance marketing opportunities and boost training.

The OPEC conference also saw a discussion between Sanalla and Mustapha Guitouni, energy minister of Algiers, about further collaboration between the nations on oil and gas exploration.

Novak also led a discussion on the merits of keeping a 2016 agreement in place that limited daily production by member nations to 1.8 million barrels per day, an agreement set to end in the first quarter of 2018, the Libya Herald article said. Reportedly, Novak said insufficient data on the decrease had been received to make a final decision.