Iran will ‘safeguard its rights and interests’ in gas field dispute with Kuwait, KSA

News Desk - The Cradle 

Iran and Kuwait claim ownership of the Durra-Arash offshore gas field, as the maritime borders between the countries have not been agreed upon

Iran will pursue its rights over the Durra/Arash field if other parties reject cooperation, the country's Oil Minister Javad Owji said on 30 July, according to the Oil Ministry's SHANA news agency.

“Regarding the exploitation of shared oil and gas fields, we have always sought to hold negotiations and reach an understanding with neighbors, and Iran also seeks the integrated and joint exploitation of the Arash field,” Owji emphasized. 

“If there is no willingness (on behalf of other sides) to reach an understanding and cooperate, Iran will safeguard its rights and interests, will put the exploitation and exploration of the aforementioned resources on the agenda, and will not tolerate any violation of its rights,” he added.

Last week, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Saad al-Barrak told SkyNews Arabia that his country will start drilling and production at the disputed Durra gas field without waiting for border demarcation with Iran.

The dispute surrounding the gas field, claimed by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, has intensified recently, despite Iranian rapprochement with the Gulf states. 

The underwater ‘Durra’ field off the coast of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, or ‘Arash’ as it is known in Iran, has remained a subject of disagreement between the three countries since its discovery in 1967. 

While part of the Arash-Durra joint gas field lies within Iran's territorial waters, Riyadh and Kuwait dispute Iran's claim and deny any ownership rights. The primary source of disagreement between the states revolves around the absence of demarcated maritime borders.

Earlier this summer, the dispute appeared to have been resolved following the resumption of relations between long-time enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia. 

In June, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Khojastehmehr, announced that preliminary work for bilateral cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the oil industry had begun and that Iran was ready to start drilling in the Durra-Arash oil field. 

However, Kuwait rejected Iranian drilling plans for the Durra gas field in early July.

“We categorically and totally reject Iran’s planned activities around the premises of the Durra offshore gas field,” Kuwaiti Oil Minister Barrak said.

Barrak added that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have “exclusive rights” to the field and that Iran’s plans “contravene the basic principles of international relations.”

The Durra field holds an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, which could produce one billion cubic feet per day.