Iran will finalise five domestic companies to work as partners with international majors in a bid to increase efforts towards raising more foreign investment in the country’s energy sector, said a report.

Petroiran Development Company, Petropars and Mapna (an Iranian power and infrastructure group) are on the current list, which is yet to be finalised, Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), was quoted as saying in an Iran Daily News report.

Petroiran is an NIOC subsidiary and tasked with onshore and offshore development. The other two companies are Oil Industries Engineering and Construction group (OIEC) and the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), stated the report.

Petropars has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with one German company and held talks with foreign investors, while Mapna this year sealed a pact with Siemens that will see the German company provide two gas turbines to a power plant in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, according to the report.

The names of the companies has been eagerly awaited by international energy companies such as BP, Total and Eni, as they hope to gain access to the Opec member’s oil and gas reserves after years of sanctions.