More than a dozen foreign companies operated in Iran and aided the development of its energy sector between January 2010 and May 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported with a reference to a U.S. report.
Of the 16 companies, most of which are based in China, India, South Korea or other countries, two have contracts with the U.S. government totaling $4 million, the Government Accountability Office said this week in the report.
Dow Jones Newswires also covered the report.
The GAO report didn't examine whether the companies developing Iran's oil and natural gas sectors were violating U.S. law imposed on Tehran through a variety of regimes since 1987. Among the measures: U.S. companies can face sanctions for investing in the Iranian energy sector, and additional sanctions exist for foreign firms that invest more than $20 million.
Two companies were new to this iteration of the report, which was first released in March 2010 to examine the period between 2005 and 2009. It also found that a number of companies have ceased, or are in the process of ending, their operations in Iran. The GAO identified 41 companies in the first edition, 20 of which "have withdrawn or are withdrawing from commercial activity in Iran's energy sector," the report said.
Companies withdrawing from Iran gave several reasons for their decision, including U.S. sanctions and the difficulty of doing business in the country. Several companies have gone public with their reasons, as well.
Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear activities has resulted in resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 2010, as well as additional unilateral sanctions approved by the U.S. Congress and the foreign ministers of all EU countries, which were primarily directed against the banking, financial and energy sectors of Iran.
Restrictions imposed by the EU include the ban on the sale of equipment, technologies and services to Iran's energy sector which is a major source of revenue for the Iranian regime; the same measure refers to the refining industry.
Last September, expanded U.S. sanctions on Iran there have prompted four of Europe's five biggest oil companies - Total, Statoil, Eni and the RD/Shell - to stop investing in Iran. Later, in October, Inpex, Japan's top oil explorer, announces withdrawal from Iran's Azadegan oil field project to avoid U.S. sanctions. Inpex has invested $153 million in this giant project.