BASF said it was in talks with Iran over a possible investment of its oil and gas division in the country.
"We are trying to assess whether it's possible for our oil and gas business to gain a foothold in Iran. We have been invited by the national authorities. The evaluation process is ongoing," BASF chief executive Kurt Bock told a news conference, adding the outcome was uncertain.
According to ISNA, he specified that such talks were limited to investments in oil and gas exploration and production and did not extend to downstream petrochemical processing plants.
The CEO also said he still saw no necessity for the chemicals group overall to pursue any "transformational" takeover deals, even as peers Bayer and Monsanto as well as Dow and DuPont are merging.