Oilfield services giant Halliburton Co. (HAL) has won a $169 million contract to drill 170 wells Mexico's Chicontepec region, its first major project in the area, Petroleos Mexicanos said Thursday.

Pemex said the contract has two portions, one for 549 million pesos ($42 million) and another for $117 million, said Pemex in an emailed statement. Pemex said the contract was awarded to Halliburton directly after an initial tender was declared void in May.

The three-year contract will involve four drilling rigs.

-By Peter Millard; Dow Jones Newswires; 5255-5001-5724; peter.millard@dowjones.com