Iranian President Mohammad Khatami offered on Monday to sell more crude oil to India and invited Indian firms to invest in the country's energy sector.

Energy-deficient India imports about 160,000 barrels per day of crude oil and is considering import of liquefied natural gas from Iran.

"India is one of the best customers of the Iranian crude oil and we are also fully prepared to raise the volume of the share of crude oil export to India," Khatami told a business seminar in New Delhi.

"We welcome all sorts of investments by Indian petroleum companies in our gas and oil industries," he said.

Indian Oil Minister Ram Naik said on Sunday he had accepted an invitation from the Iranians to visit Tehran to boost bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

He said India could offer consultancy on the use of compressed natural gas for Iran, which has about 15 percent of the world's gas reserves.

Officials in New Delhi said India's state refiners could offer consultancy in refinery maintenance also.

India is also considering import of natural gas from Iran by pipeline.

But New Delhi is reluctant to import gas if the pipeline runs on land across neighbouring Pakistan, its foe in three wars. However, it is willing to consider a deep-sea pipeline.

"The project of the gas pipeline from Iran to India, in case the final decision is taken, can be implementable," Khatami said, adding that the project's feasibility was being studied.

"...this pipeline will play a very significant role in providing India with inexpensive and perennial flow of energy," he said.

India produces 65 million cubic metres (2.3 billion cubic feet) of gas a day, less than half its demand of 141 million cubic metres.