In a sign that the American shale gas revolution is spreading to the Middle East, Saudi Aramco reached a deal with Halliburton over the weekend to lift its production program in three Saudi Arabian shale fields.

The companies did not reveal many details of their three-year contract, but it represented an expansion of Saudi Aramco’s efforts to produce more natural gas to support its growing chemical industry. Aramco, the Saudi national oil company, also hopes to reduce the practice of burning oil for domestic power to increase its crude exports.

Over the last year, Saudi Aramco has awarded $4.5 billion in contracts to international oil service companies to increase its gas production. But a number of European companies have failed in their efforts to recover gas at an economical price.

Halliburton probably has more experience in drilling and completing oil and gas shale wells than any other company, having been a central player in the past decade’s shale drilling frenzy across Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Louisiana.