Halliburton and PETRONAS Carigali have signed an agreement for the evaluation and development of global shale resources, the companies said on Friday.

The signing ceremony was held on Feb. 9, at the KL Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This collaboration will enable PETRONAS Carigali to shorten its in-house capability development by leveraging on Halliburton’s technology and experience in the North America shale industry, it said.

Halliburton will work with PETRONAS Carigali to set up a shale technical center in Kuala Lumpur, the company said.

Halliburton has experience in all of the active major shale basins.

The company is aggressively expanding its global infrastructure to support shale development outside of North America, it said.

“One of the cornerstones of Halliburton’s strategy is to maintain leadership in unconventional plays,” said Jeff Miller, Halliburton’s senior vice president of global business development and marketing.

“Expanding into the Asia Pacific market and providing the same quality level of service we already provide in North America fits into that strategy,” he added.

Halliburton currently employs more than 5,600 people in the Asia Pacific region.