Japan's Inpex Company is in talks with Iran to sign a deal for the development of Iranian Azadegan oilfield, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.

"Inpex has started intense talks with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to develop the Azadegan oil field in Iran's southwestern oil-rich province of Khuzestan," Managing director of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company, Noureddin Shahnazizadeh, said on Friday.

Inpex is one of the well-known companies in the oil industry and as it has past experience and data regarding Azadegan oil field, Shahnazizadeh was quoted as saying.

Inpex had a stake of 10 percent in a development project in Azadegan but withdrew in 2010 following the Japanese cabinet's decision under U.S. pressures.

Azadegan is believed to have an in-place reservoir of 42 billion barrels.

source: Xinhua