In hopes to take advantage of domestic shale savvy, India is planning to sign a shale gas exploration agreement with the United States in the near future, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Since the U.S. has recently become a magnet for investment for industry heavyweights due to the shale boom, India is looking to harness similar interest for their unconventional resources. Reliance Industries, India’s largest energy company, has already spent over $3.34 billion in U.S. shale gas acquisitions. Other hefty investments in U.S. shale have come from companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and ExxonMobil Corp.

“The agreement with the U.S. will be for exchanging data and identifying shale gas basins,” said Indian oil minister, Murli Deora, at a recent event geared toward energy investors.

Indian officials hope the agreement will aid the country in harvesting its own resources and lessening its dependence on foreign energy. While harnessing unconventional prospects require more funding, the Indian government is working to create a framework for this new industry facet.

“We will have to have separate parameters [for unconventional plays] and we are working on it,” said Deora.

With a visit by U.S. president Barack Obama slated for November, S.K. Srivastava, India’s director general of hydrocarbons, is hopeful that the pact will be signed during the visit.