CHINA National Petroleum Corp said yesterday it and BP have taken over operating Iraq's Rumaila oilfield, the country's biggest.

Iraq has signed a string of deals with foreign energy companies to restore its dilapidated oil industry and boost output.

Rumaila is producing just over 1 million barrels per day and the partners plan to raise that by 10 percent by the end of the year, CNPC said in its newsletter, China Oil News.

Rumaila, in the southern city of Basra, has 17.8 billion barrels of reserves.

BP Plc owns 38 percent of the venture, CNPC has 37 percent and Iraq's South Oil Co has 25 percent.