Eni sees final Zubair oilfield OK in next few days

ROME, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Eni (ENI.MI) expects final approval from the Iraqi government for a contract to develop the Zubair oilfield in the next few days, Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said on Wednesday.

"We have initiated the contract. In the next few days the contract should be approved by the cabinet; then we'll proceed with the official signature and the contract will be operative," Scaroni said on the sidelines of a meeting.

Scaroni said the decision on the Zubair contract would come after that on the Rumaila oilfield.

On Tuesday British oil major BP Plc (BP.L) and China National Petroleum Corp, or CNPC, signed Iraq's first major new oil deal since the 2003 U.S. invasion, snapping up a development contract for the Rumaila oilfield, one of the world's biggest. [ID:nL3558520]

Iraq's Oil Ministry signed an initial agreement on Monday with an Eni-led consortium to develop Zubair oilfield.

The deals face huge political risk. There is no guarantee the next government following an election in January will honor them.

Scaroni also said Eni expects binding offers for gas and mining assets in the north of Italy in two or three weeks' time.

"We are still at the non-binding offer stage," he said, adding Eni would sell the assets only if offers proved satisfactory.

In June Eni said it had identified gas assets and mining licenses in Italy to sell as non-strategic assets.

Those assets have been divided into three units: one covering assets in the north, the second in central Italy and the third in southern Italy. (Reporting by Roberto Landucci, Writing by Stephen Jewkes, Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)