Halliburton wins Saudi Aramco South Ghawar pact

Halliburton did not release the financial terms of the deal, which includes an option for a five-year extension.

Described by analysts at Simmons & Co as a big win in a "zero-sum game" with the competition, the award lifted Halliburton shares 2 percent on Friday, while industry leader Schlumberger Ltd slipped 0.7 percent and Baker Hughes Inc fell 2 percent.

The deal comes more than two years after Houston-based Halliburton set up another headquarters in Dubai and posted its chief executive there to sharpen its focus on the Middle East.

The company will provide Aramco with "turnkey" services, which means the wells will be built so that no additional work will be required by Aramco.

The project is expected to use three to four rigs to develop between 153 and 185 oil production, water injection and evaluation wells.

The contract is Aramco's first-ever integrated turnkey drilling award, as part of a strategy to increase collaboration with major oilfield service providers, Halliburton said.

Halliburton shares rose 2 percent to $31.15, which is within a dollar of the 12-month high they hit last month, despite a sharp drop in U.S. oil prices on Friday CLc1 that weighed on the rest of the energy sector. (Reporting by Matt Daily in New York and Braden Reddall in San Francisco; editing by Gerald E. McCormick)