Iraq has opened its door to foreign investment to develop its oil reserves. The Iraqi oil ministry announced Thursday the country has signed a deal with a British-Chinese consortium to develop a key oil field in southern Iraq.

 

The 20-year contract is considered a milestone in Iraq's efforts to renew its ailing oil sector.

Iraq opened six oil fields and two gas fields for bidding in June. The world's biggest oil firms from Britain, the US, China and Russia expressed interest in the tender. Britain's BP and its Chinese partner CNPC won an auction to tap the 17.8 billion barrel Rumaila oil field. Under the deal, BP holds a 38 percent stake in the venture, CNPC 37 percent and Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization controls the rest.

Rumaila in southern Iraq is the largest oil field in the country. Its current capacity is 1.1 million barrels per day and its reserve is almost 17 billion barrels.

Iraq has the world's third-largest oil reserve. The country is also heavenly reliant on oil exports to boost its domestic reconstruction.

But violence has hampered the war-torn country's efforts to attract foreign investment. The BP-CNPC consortium is the first foreign firm to operate an Iraqi oil field in decades.