OREANDA-NEWS.   Iraq's cabinet approved an USD 588.8 million oilfield service contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction for the development of the Zubair oil field, the cabinet said in a statement.

Under the contract, Daewoo E&C will handle engineering, procurement and construction work for a gas separation facility at the giant Zubair oilfield in Iraq's south, whose output is forecast to reach 850,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2017.

Italy's ENI, U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp and South Korea's KOGAS signed a 20-year deal with Iraq in 2010 to develop Zubair, whose production is currently at 320,000 barrels per day (bpd).