Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani said on Monday he expected Italian oil major Eni and its partners to invest $35 billion in the 4-billion-barrel Zubair oilfield over six years.

Al-Shahristani's comments came after the Oil Ministry signed an initial agreement with the consortium led by Eni. 

 "The expected investment to reach the production plateau of 1.2 million barrels per day is about $20 billion as capital and $15 billion as an operative cost, which means the total investment is $35 billion over the next six years," he said.

Eni has said it and its partners Occidental Petroleum Corp and South Korea's Kogas expect to invest $10 billion in the field as they ramp up production to 1.125 million barrels per day from 195,000 bpd, within seven years. - Reuters