BP is entering U.S. shale oil territory with a new plan.

Houston Chronicle reports that the British oil giant is hoping its multilateral well strategy pays off. It’s a method used in deep-water drilling. The wells consist of a vertical wellbore and four or five horizontal branches. A multilateral well is less expensive than drilling four or five individual wells.

Three multilateral wells have been drilled in the San Juan Basin, located in Colorado and New Mexico. According to the source, BP has an advantage over the smaller companies that drill much of the U.S. shale plays, because those companies would likely run into problems with multilateral drilling.

Read more: Houston Chronicle > After years playing catch up, BP may have an edge in shale