(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- Shares in Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group advanced as much as 3.8 percent today after the private Chinese oilfield services company said it has received a license to develop and operate oil and gas fields in Iraq.

Zhongman Petroleum’s stock price [SHA: 603619] closed up 2.1 percent at CNY20.53 (USD2.80) today. Earlier in the day it hit CNY20.88.

Zhongman Petroleum has passed a strict review of its abilities in oil and gas field management as well as other respects and has been granted a permit by Iraq’s Ministry of Oil that will allow the firm to take part in the exploration and development as well as investment in oil and gas blocks in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country, the Shanghai-based company said yesterday.

No details were given about Zhongman Petroleum’s plans to develop oilfields in Iraq, but the company said that it will make a thorough assessment of oil and gas fields listed in the Ministry of Oil’s bidding documents.

Zhongman Petroleum entered Iraq in 2012 and has provided oil and gas exploitation engineering services to 15 oil and gas projects in the country so far. In July, it penned a USD390 million drilling contract with Iraqi oil developer Basra Energy.

The firm is also engaged in oil and gas exploration and currently has three projects underway, one in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and two in Kazakhstan.

Editor: Kim Taylor