Tehran has called for negotiations over the disputed gas field between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. A Riyadh-Tehran rapprochement could help bring the parties to a settlement in the gas field, which has not been shared since the 1960s.
After Iran announced it would drill in the Arash/Durra gas field in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait and then Saudi Arabia claimed that the field belonged to them.
The controversy started when Mohsen Khojestemehr, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company, announced that “preparations to start drilling in the oil field have been completed.” “The board of directors of the National Oil Company has been allocated a significant amount of resources to implement the development plan for this field,” Khojestemehr said, according to Iranian state media.
Following Iran’s announcement, an anonymous Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry official said that the Arash/Durra Gas Field in the Persian Gulf and its natural wealth, the subject of the dispute with Iran, belongs entirely to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The official called on Iran to sit down with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and start negotiations to define the maritime border between the two countries.
A day later, a similar call came from Saudi Arabia. Riyadh argued that the entire Durra field belongs to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and urged Iran to “sit down at the table”.
The Arash/Durra Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, discovered in 1967, has been causing problems between Iran and Kuwait for years. The Iranian side of the gas field is called Arash, while the Kuwaiti side is known as Durra.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement in March 2022 to develop the Durra Gas Field. Iran, on the other hand, argued that the agreement was “illegal” and announced that it would start drilling in the region.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had previously called on Iran to negotiate on this issue, but there was no response from Tehran.
Robin Mills, CEO of Dubai-based Qamar Energy, told The National, “The Saudi-Iran restoration of diplomatic relations included talk of developing joint oil fields. Kuwait has held negotiations with Iran on the border but maintains its position that Al Durra belongs entirely to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”.
Nora Bakhsh, a researcher on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, said that the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia was looking positive so far, but these negotiations are still in the beginning stages and Tehran’s claims to Al Durra could pose additional challenges to them.
