(5:00 p.m., June 30, Beijing time) China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)/BP alliance has been awarded a tender in the first round of the international bidding for Iraq's oil & gas fields. The two bidders jointly won a service contract to develop Iraq's Rumaila oilfield. 

Rumaila oilfield was discovered in 1950s and is the largest known oilfield in Iraq, located in Basra Province, southeast Iraq.

According to the rules of the Iraqi government, all contracts awarded in this bidding are technical service contracts, with a valid period of 20 years and a possible 5 year extension after.

Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iran, with proven remaining recoverable reserves of approximately 115 billion barrels, accounting for 10% of the world's total.