SINGAPORE/BEIJING: Chinese state oil trader Zhenhua Oil Corp has emerged as the frontrunner in a tender to buy Iraqi crude for five years, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.

The company has submitted the "most competitive bid" in the tender held by Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO that attracted participation from international oil companies, trading houses and Chinese and Indian refiners, he said.

Zhenhua Oil did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The "Iraqi oil ministry is still studying offers made by bidders on the prepayment oil deal," government spokesman Hassan Nadhim had told reporters on Tuesday.

The winner of the tender will pay SOMO about $2.5 billion in return for 48 milMuyu Xu in Beijing, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Florence Tanlion barrels of crude between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. 

(Reporting by Muyu Xu in Beijing, Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))