Germany’s Linde Group is seeking to win oil and gas contracts in Iran, according to its CEO, Wolfgang Buchele.

“We know Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum is about to make big investments to develop the petrochemicals sector,” he told Iran’s state-owned Shana news agency. “For our part, we are definitely seeking to cooperate with Iranian companies on the transfer of technology after the annulment of sanctions.”

The company is ready to resume its “legitimate presence in Iran as soon as Western sanctions are lifted”, Buchele said.

Buchele highlighted that Linde is one of the biggest players in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

UK/Dutch Shell, Spain’s Repsol and France’s Total had contracts to build three LNG facilities in the country until 2010, when the projects were abandoned.

On 23 September, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, said the country is seeking to promote trade ties with Germany.

Iran has the fourth-largest proven reserves of oil in the world, and is second only to Russia in gas reserves, according to a 2014 study by UK oil major BP.

Although the Islamic Republic remains one of the largest producers of oil and gas, its industry has been crippled by underinvestment, leaving much of it outdated and lacking important technology such as the means to process and export LNG.

Iran is targeting LNG exports of 40 million tonnes a year after sanctions are lifted.