Maersk Oil, a subsidiary of French energy giant Total, is eyeing cooperation in development of an offshore Iranian oil project in the Arabian Gulf,  a top official was quoted as saying in a media report.

"Maersk is likely to sign the second Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) deal within two months," Mohammad Meshkinfam, chief executive officer of Pars Oil and Gas Company, was quoted by Iran Daily, which cited ISNA.

Maersk Oil has held talks on taking over the crude oil layer of South Pars, a giant gas deposit where its new parent company Total has agreed to develop an offshore phase in a $5-billion deal

Iran aims to stabilize production from the SP oil layer at the current production level of around 25,000 barrels per day, and gradually boost output to 55,000-60,000 bpd, the report said, noting that Maersk can help increase output to 150,000 barrels per day.

The oil layer is located 130 km off the Arabian Gulf coast and contains an estimated seven billion barrels of oil in place, according to the report. Iran began production from the SP oil layer in March.