Iran has extended a deadline for bids on oil and gas projects, urging BP to join the bidding process, a report said.

The deadline for bids had been pushed back to February 15, National Iranian Oil Company head Ali Kardor, was quoted as saying by breitbart.com, which cited Isna.

He said the original late January deadline had been extended because “information from some companies was not complete”.

“We are interested to see more companies on the list,” Kardor said, highlighting that British Petroleum had still not submitted a bid.