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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050405130.html
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Expands Role in Sanctions-Hit Oil Sector
(Washington Post) - Thomas Erdbrink Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is assuming a leading role in developing the country's lucrative petroleum sector, Western oil executives and Iranian analysts say. The Guard's engineering companies are replacing European oil firms that have largely abandoned Iran. Guard-affiliated companies now oversee the development of most oil projects, and they have taken the lead in key parts of the gigantic South Pars liquefied natural gas project in Asalouyeh, with Chinese companies increasingly acting as subcontractors. A senior U.S. official said it was not unusual for some government insiders to figure out how to benefit in countries under international sanctions. But the Iranian government is clearly worried about the prospect of new sanctions, he said, noting its intense diplomatic efforts to avert them.