BP has won a contract to develop Iraq's massive Rumaila oilfield.

The Iraqi cabinet rejected other bids for deals it had hoped would revive its struggling oil and gas sector.

It was unclear if the cabinet decision was the final word on the country's first major energy auction since the allied invasion in 2003.

BP and the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) were the only consortium to walk away with a deal.

Rumaila is Iraq's biggest producing oilfield with reserves of 17 billion barrels.

The British oil major and its Chinese partner sealed the deal only after an Exxon Mobil-led group had dropped out of the running.

BP and CNPC agreed to a cut-price fee of just $2 for every extra barrel of oil produced from Rumaila.

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