Iran’s Ministry of Oil & Gas has drawn up new plans to develop the offshore Binaloud oil field after severing a deal with India’s Oil and National Gas Corporation (ONGC).

ONGC discovered oil at the Farsi block in 2006 but has abandoned the development as commercial unviable, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

State-owned operator Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) has now signed an agreement with University of Tehran Science and Technology Park to carry out studies at the field, according to industry sources, with seismic data processing at the project under way.

IOOC estimate that there is 3.5 billion barrels of oil in place, compared with ONGC’s estimate of 1 billion barrels of heavy crude.

International oil companies have become wary of pursuing projects in Iran due to the increasing restrictions caused by US-led sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s energy sector.