Kuwait and Saudi Arabia demand exclusivity over Al-Durra gas field under Iranian eyes

The disputed field, known as Arash in Iran and Al-Durra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is jointly owned by the Saudi kingdom and the Kuwaiti nation. According to the Foreign Ministry source accessed by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), only the governments of Riyadh and Kuwait have "full rights to the activity of the field". On the other hand, Tehran insists on the "illegality" of the agreement signed by which they are excluded from any kind of activity on the field.

Although they have never recognised Iran's alleged rights in Al-Durra, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) political and economic alliance, have repeatedly invited Iran to negotiate the demarcation of the maritime border. According to SPA, the Kingdom also reiterated its demand that Iran initiate talks with Riyadh and Kuwait to define the region's eastern border.

Meanwhile, Kuwait rejected Iran's "claims" over the Al-Durra gas field and stressed that it shared exclusive rights with Saudi Arabia over its natural resources, state news agency KUNA reported.

After Tehran declared it was ready to start drilling in the field, Kuwait joined Saudi Arabia in urging Iran to start talks on the demarcation of its maritime borders. Kuwait's Oil Minister Saad al-Barrak was quoted by KUNA as saying, "We categorically and completely reject Iran's planned activities around the Durra offshore gas field facilities."

Al-Barrak expressed surprise at the Iranian plan, adding that it goes against the fundamental norms of international law. According to Kuna, a source close to the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said the natural resources in the offshore area where the Al-Durra offshore field is located are shared by both countries.

The talks began years ago. Since studies confirmed that large hydrocarbon reserves existed in the area, Iran and Kuwait have been engaged in fruitless negotiations for years to resolve their disagreement over a natural gas-rich maritime border. Both sides always tried to emphasise the importance of resolving the issue in accordance with international law. Due to the lack of agreements, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2022 to develop the field.

The field's recoverable reserves are estimated at around 220 billion cubic metres (7 trillion cubic feet), and have been disputed since the 1960s, when Iran and Kuwait granted overlapping offshore concessions. The field, which lies in the neutral zone of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, equivalent to about 84,000 barrels of condensate per day.

The field operations have been the subject of controversy since the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company, Mohsen Khojsteh Mehr, revealed last week that the country had committed significant resources to exploration of the offshore field. According to Mehr, who spoke to Iranian state media, "considerable resources have been allocated to the board of directors of the National Iranian Oil Company for the implementation of the development plan for this field".