MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russian gas giant Gazprom and Halliburton, one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, have agreed to cooperate on Gazprom’s hydrocarbon prospecting, exploration and development projects outside Russia, according to the statement on the website of Gazprom International.

Gazprom International is a specialized operating company for Gazprom’s upstream projects outside Russia.

According to the statement, Gazprom International and Halliburton signed a memorandum of understanding at the ongoing 6th International Gas Forum in St. Petersburg.

The memorandum was signed on behalf of the company by Andrey Fick, Managing Director of Gazprom International, and Konstantin Schilin, vice president of Russian Operations for Halliburton.

According to the statement "the memorandum expresses the parties’ willingness to cooperate in the identification of new business opportunities for joint development, as well as to cooperate in the performance and evaluation of infrastructure development projects, among others."

The memorandum also provides for cooperation in the area of technical support services for projects, project documentation, personnel training, and supply of equipment, technologies, software and consulting services for project execution.

In 1998, Gazprom, Zarubezhneft and Stroytransgaz companies created Zarubezhneftegaz company for representation of their interests in overseas projects. In 2007, Gazprom bought out the stakes of its partners in the company and renamed it in Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz. Since then this 100% subsidiary of Gazprom led operations on behalf of the gas giant in Central and South-Eastern Asia, in India as well as in Venezuela.

In 2007, the Netherlands-based company Gazprom EP International B.V. was established and registered (in short: Gazprom International). It represented the interests of Gazprom in the international upstream-projects in Africa and South America. Thus, de facto, the same function was performed by two different companies.

In order to optimize its project activities abroad on February 4, 2011 Gazprom decided to appoint Gazprom International as the only enterprise that would specialize in exploration and production of hydrocarbons outside Russia. Gazprom International combined the assets and authorities of both foreign subsidiaries Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz and Gazprom EP international BV.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's providers of products and services to the energy industry. With over 50,000 employees and operations in approximately 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir - from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction, completion and production optimization.