S.Korean consortium wins Kurdistan oil deal-paper

SEOUL, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A South Korean consortium has won a major oil development project in Iraq's Kurdish region, Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported on Thursday citing unnamed sources.

The news came after the Iraqi federal government halted oil supplies last month to South Korea's top refiner, SK Energy (096770.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), in response to what it says are illegal oil exploration deals with Kurdish officials.

The exact location of the oil field to be developed was not identified, but the newspaper said it is estimated to have 800 million to 1 billion barrels of oil.

The consortium, led by state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) and Samsung Corp (000830.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), is expected to sign a deal with the Kurdistan regional government on Thursday, it said.

Baghdad insists that all oil deals in Iraq must be approved by the central government.

South Korea, which is almost wholly reliant on crude oil imports, is investing in overseas exploration projects as well as buying assets or companies that are already producing oil. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Tomasz Janowski )