Iran Press/Middle East: The company was founded by a member of a former member of the US Delta Force who knew the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) through the security company he founded, TigerSwan.
In April last year, the US Treasury granted a rare license allowing DCE to sidestep American sanctions on Syria's oil sector, raising questions over how this has happened. The founders of DCE are said to have donated to Republican candidates but they have denied using political influence to secure the license.
Speaking about DCE's work in the SDF-controlled north-east region, Joel Rayburn, US special envoy to Syria said that US officials endorsed the project "because we support trying to get the economy of north-east Syria up and running."
The FT article raised speculations over why former US President Donald Trump reversed his decision to keep US troops in the region has threatened twice to pull them out of north-east Syria. Trump's threat was met with criticism after which he admitted that that troops would remain "only for the oil".
Pentagon spokesperson Jessica L McNulty was also forced to comment on speculations that US soldiers remained to guard the US oil firm, insisting that the Department of Defence had not been tasked with protecting "DCE or any other private company . . . seeking to develop oil resources in north-east Syria".
DCE is said to be unlike other major oil firms that have long been involved in pumping crude from the Middle East, including neighboring Iraq. This unknown outfit's mission is to explore, refine and export oil from a corner of war-torn Syria controlled by a US-backed SDF militia.
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