Oil field-service company Halliburton Co. (HAL) said Wednesday it earned a Chevron Corp. (CVX) contract for shale gas exploration in Poland.

Initial shale gas exploration drilling is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, and the contract award is for three years, with the possibility to be extended, Halliburton said in a press release. Chevron acquired rights to explore for shale gas in Poland at the end of 2009.

The contract is a step toward Chevron's goal of replicating the success of shale gas development in the U.S., where new technologies unlocked vast new reserves of shale oil and gas and revived the once flagging domestic energy industry. In 2009, the U.S. surpassed Russia as the world's biggest gas producer.

Chevron's move comes at a time when demand for gas produced in Europe is expected to grow vigorously as countries intensify efforts to reduce their dependence on Russia as a supplier.

The services Halliburton -- the second-largest oil-field-services company behind Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) -- will provide include drilling services, mud logging, cementing, coiled tubing, well testing, completion and hydraulic fracturing, the company said. Halliburton also will support the project with project management services.

Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company by market value after Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), has also acquired shale gas acreage in Bulgaria and Romania. Other major oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) also have exploration rights in Poland.

-By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com

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