Announcements^[1] that led oil and gas industry analysts to believe that China would replace Western investment in Iranian oil fields seem to have been premature. After US sanctions^[2] targeted Kunlun Shipping Co. and Cosco Shipping Holdings Co., Chinese oil and gas firms, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, withdrew from projects in Iran, including a project in the South Pars field left behind by French firm Total SA.