While the French oil giant Total just signed a huge gas deal with Iran, American companies are deprived of Iran’s lucrative oil and gas market due to the restrictions imposed by the US administration.

In a Monday ceremony, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and France’s Total signed a contract for the development and production of phase 11 of South Pars (SP11), the world’s largest gas field.

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh congratulated all involved in the deal, saying it will lead to “more than five billion dollars in foreign investments”.

He also held out a hand to US oil companies, saying his country needs some 200 billion dollars (£153 billion) of investments in its oil industry in the next five years to make up for time lost during sanctions.

Iran hopes to produce six million barrels of crude oil and condensates a day in five years, he said, up from some 3.6 million today.

Zanganeh said, “We do not consider any obstacle for the participation of American companies.”

“The main obstacle is being created by the US government.”