Shares of Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group jumped after the Chinese oilfield services provider said it won the development rights for the northern extension of the East Baghdad Filed and the Middle Euphrates oil and gas field in Iraq.

Zhongman Petroleum [SHA: 603619] closed 4.9 percent higher at CNY26.79 (USD3.70) a share today. The broader Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.2 percent.

The 23,100-hectare northern extension of the East Baghdad Field is located in the Baghdad and Saladin governorates, the Shanghai-based company said on May 11. The Middle Euphrates block, with an area of 107,300 hectares, seats in the Najaf and Karbala governorates, it added.

Zhongman Petroleum has not finalized the contract with Iraq's Ministry of Oil, with the pair needing to consult to determine the development plans, it noted. Contract negotiations will be made as soon as possible after considering the country's policies on oil and gas field development, it pointed out.

Zhongman Petroleum's net profit shrank 19.9 percent to CNY172 million (USD23.8 million) in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, its latest financial report showed. Its revenue fell 10.7 percent to CNY807 million.

（Picture: Veer）