Iraq's cabinet approved a contract with South Korea's Kogas on Tuesday to develop the Akkas gas field in western Anbar province, an oil ministry source said.

Iraq awarded a development contract for Akkas, the country's largest gas field, to Kogas and KazMunaiGas in a bidding round last year.

State-run Kogas announced in May it had raised its stake in Akkas to 100 per cent after KazMunaiGas pulled out.

'The contract has been approved by the cabinet and we will sign it, finally, on October 15th,' the oil ministry source said.

In June, Kogas chief executive Choo Kang-soo said three Asian nations had asked Kogas to sell them a stake in the field, which has estimated reserves of 5.6 trillion cubic feet.

Opec member Iraq has already signed contracts with major international oil companies to develop its energy sector as it seeks to rebuild its economy after years of war and sanctions more than eight years after the US invasion.-Reuters