OREANDA-NEWS. Iraq's cabinet said it had approved two major energy contracts for its Rumaila oilfield project worth around USD 960.8 million. It approved a USD 535.8 million contract with British oil service firm Petrofac to submit projects management services for the supergiant Rumaila, which pumps more than a third of Iraq's total output of over 3 million barrels per day (bpd).

China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) has also won a USD 425 million service contract to handle engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning work for a power station at Rumaila.

Rumaila, the workhorse of Iraq's oil industry with 17 billion barrels in reserves, is being developed by British oil major BP and Chinese partner CNPC.

Baghdad has signed a series of contracts with foreign oil companies that target total oil production capacity of 9 million barrels per day by 2020 - up from over 3 million bpd.