Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

French energy giants are seeking to return to Iran's huge market. This follows recent agreement between Iran and six world powers on ways to implement the nuclear deal reached between two sides in Geneva back in November.

Senior executives from a number of biggest French companies, including GDF Suez SA and Alstom SA are set to visit Iran next month, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A spokeswoman for Alstom said, the vice president of the power and transport company will be among the French delegation to Iran "to test the environment in the country." Meanwhile, GDF Suez announced that it is going to send Dominique Simonneau, a member of its executive committee and deputy for its European and international relations department.

Meanwhile, Veolia Environment SA said that it would join the delegation. Safran SA also said that it was considering sending a representative, but no final decision had been made yet.

The French delegation's visit would be one of the highest profile visits by European corporate executives since the recent thaw in relations between Iran and the West.

At the end of last year, Iran named seven Western oil companies it wants back in its vast oil and gas fields if international sanctions are lifted. Iran said, it would outline investment terms in April next year.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh named the seven companies in order: Total of France, Royal Dutch Shell, Italy's ENI, Norway's Statoil, Britain's BP and U.S. companies Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips.

Zanganeh also said that Iran has begun talks with leading Western energy companies to get them back.

In early November 2013, the chief executive of Total, Christophe de Margerie, said that the company will "definitely" go back to Iran, if the sanctions are lifted."

Shell's outgoing chief executive, Peter Voser, also said Iran possesses "vast resources" of oil and gas.

Many European energy companies stopped working in Iran over the past few years amid tightened EU and the U.S. sanctions against the country's oil and financial sectors.

Iran and six world powers - the US, Britain, Russia, China, France, and Germany - signed a landmark nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva in November 2013 to set the stage for the resolution of the dispute over Tehran's nuclear activities.

Under the deal, the Sextet is committed to relieve some sanctions against Iran in return for r Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.

It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions being imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.