Iraq's Zubair-Eni deal effective Thursday-official

BASRA, Iraq Feb 18 (Reuters) - A contract to develop Iraq's 4 billion barrel Zubair oilfield won by a group led by Italian oil major Eni (ENI.MI) became effective on Thursday, a senior Iraqi oil official said.

Eni and its partners, U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) and South Korea's KOGAS (036460.KS), signed in January a final contract with Baghdad setting an output target for the field of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd). [ID:nLDE60L1EJ]

"The effective date for the Zubair contract was today, Thursday," Dhiya Jaafar, current head of the South Oil Co, told Reuters.

"The rest of the contracts will follow once the administrative and legal requirements are completed ... I expect during this month," Jaafar said in the southern oil hub of Basra. He gave no date for when the group planned to pay the $300 million signature bonus due for the contract to develop Zubair. The sum is due within 30 days of the effective date.

The Eni-led consortium plans to invest about $20 billion in Zubair over the 20-year term of the contract, which can be extended to 25 years.

The Zubair deal is one of a series struck by Iraq that could transform it to a top oil producer with an output capacity of 12 million bpd, giving it the cash it needs to rebuild its battered economy after years of war and sanctions. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed; editing by Rania El Gamal)