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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072203933.html
Sanctions Slow Development of Huge Natural Gas Field in Iran
(Washington Post) Thomas Erdbrink - Increasingly tough international sanctions over Iran's nuclear program have significantly slowed development of the South Pars gas field as Western firms such as Shell, Total and Halliburton have pulled out of the project. South Pars is the Iranian portion of a natural gas reservoir about two miles below the Persian Gulf between Iran and Qatar. The reservoir is the world's largest gas field. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known as Sinopec, and Malaysia's SKS Ventures have taken over some parts of the project, but the bulk of the work is now done by local consortiums, some of them affiliates of the Revolutionary Guard's construction arm. In addition to problems obtaining financing, companies face difficulties in procuring key instruments and hiring drilling rigs, industry insiders said. At the South Pars site, the number of workers has dropped to 20,000, down from a peak of nearly 100,000 when several projects were underway.