China, Iraq strike $3 bn oil deal

BEIJING: China and Iraq have reached an agreement on a landmark, $3 billion deal to exploit oil in the Middle Eastern country, the Iraqi embassy in Beijing said on Thursday.

The two sides reached the agreement during a visit to China by Iraqi oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani, according to a statement issued by the embassy.

The agreement revives a 1997 contract that granted China exploration rights to the Al-Ahdab oil field in the province of Wassit, just south of Baghdad.