China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and the Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) will soon sign contracts to drill in the Missan province of Iraq.

According to the Iraq Oil Report, the long-awaited deal will be put down in ink on Monday (May 17th), although fellow Chinese firm Sinochem International is understood to have pulled out of the deal.

The signing ceremony is due to take place at the headquarters of the oil ministry in Baghdad, a source known to the publication claimed.

The oil ministry has held two international licensing rounds in the last year, with the second round resulting in a flurry of contract wins for the likes of CNOOC, BP and Total.

All foreign oil companies in the country have agreed to allot funds to new oil training programmes that will boost local employment figures in the country's burgeoning oil and gas industry.

Iraq has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world after Iran, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

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