BAGHDAD- China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) will build and operate facilities to process natural gas extracted alongside crude oil at Iraq's giant Halfaya oilfield, two oil officials said on Wednesday.

CPECC, which is affiliated to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will process around 300 million standard cubic feet per day (mcf/d) of natural gas extracted alongside crude oil at the field, said the officials.

The officials who are close to the energy operations in Halfaya did not reveal the value of the deal or when the building work will start on the gas project.

Halfaya, operated by PetroChina, is Maysan Oil Company's largest oilfield, producing 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the company's total output of around 510,000 bpd. 

Iraq continues to flare some of the gas extracted alongside crude oil at its fields because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel for local consumption or exports.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed Editing by Edmund Blair and Elaine Hardcastle) ((ahmed.rasheed@thomsonreuters.com; +964-7901-947-131; Reuters Messaging: ahmed.rasheed.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net))