Indian and U.S. officials have signed a shale gas MoU that will provide the Middle Eastern country with the technology needed to access its unconventional resources, according to The India Times.

The pact, signed on Monday during President Obama’s visit to the country, calls for cooperation in identifying and tapping India’s shale reserves. India’s oil minister, Murli Deora, touts shale gas as the future mantra of the hydrocarbons industry.

“We are trying to usher in a shale gas era,” said Deora. “The MoU will help India identify shale gas resources in the country and frame policy regime for exploitation of the resource.”

The MoU was signed by Sudhir Bhargava, additional secretary in the Indian Oil Ministry, and David Goldwyn, coordinator of international energy affairs for the US State Department.

Key players in the Indian market, such as Reliant Industries Ltd. (RIL), have already started purchasing stakes in American companies. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC) has also initiated a pilot drilling project in Bengal.