Chinese state-owned oil company Sinopec has stepped up talks over a $3bn deal to develop Iranian energy assets that Royal Dutch Shell was previously negotiating for.

A delegation from Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, was sent to Tehran this month to complete the deal, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that cites anonymous Western oil executives.

Over 2016 and 2017, Shell was negotiating to develop a range of oil and gas fields in Iran, including the South Azadegan and Yadavaran oil fields and the Kish gas field.

Ultimately, Shell decided the sanctions risk was too high and announced in March that it had decided to abandon plans to develop hydrocarbons in Iran.

Sinopec is one of several Chinese and Russian companies targeting large deals in Iran after US President Donald Trump announced that it would pull out of the 2015 nuclear agreement and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic.