Iraq's Zubair oil field will reach its peak output target of 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years and keep it for another seven years, said Italian oil and gas group Eni, the project's lead contractor.   

The field is already profitable, said Eni, which has a 32.81 percent stake in the project. It said output at Zubair has reached 201,000 bpd, a 9.8 percent rise from when the service contract started on February 18.

"The consortium's contract cost recovery commences, with the group earning a remuneration fee of $2 per barrel on incremental production," the Italian group said in a statement on Sunday.

Zubair, one of the biggest oil fields in the Iraq, is located near Basra in the south of the country. Eni partners in the consortium are Iraqi Missan Oil Company (25 percent), Occidental Petroleum Corp (23.44 percent) and South Korea's Korea Gas Corp (18.75 percent). - Reuters