China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and BP are expected to jointly finalize their contracts with Iraqi partners for the development of the Rumaila oilfield by the end of October, after the two companies were awarded the contract to develop the field in June.

CNPC President Jiang Jiemin was scheduled to travel to London this week to meet with BP's top management, said a company source yesterday, who asked not to be named. Development of the Rumaila oilfield will be on top of Jiang's agenda, he said, without elaborating.

The BP-CNPC contract to develop Rumaila was the only successful bid in Iraq's auction of its oil and gas assets in June. It is also the country's first auction of major oil contracts since the 2003 US-led invasion.