Tehran renewed conflict in Durra gas field and Iranian claims to fake rights – Kuwait responds

It seems that Iran is trying to ignite the war and fierce disputes in the Gulf, after the steps of the Arab-Israeli Negev summit against it, and a few days after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait announced the development of their joint field, in the waters of the Arab Gulf, which Iran claims to have a share in.

In a statement that would escalate the situation, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji said that his country will soon begin installing drilling equipment around the Durra Arash field, according to the Iranian designation.

In a tweet on his Twitter account, Oji wrote that Iran is ready to negotiate with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, claiming that unilateral initiatives do not prevent the implementation of our plan, referring to the Kuwait-Saudi agreement.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheik Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah confirmed that what he said during a press conference with the French Foreign Minister regarding the Durra field was the negotiations on the continental shelf, considering it a trilateral Kuwaiti-Saudi-Iranian negotiation to delineate the borders of the continental shelf between the three countries.

In a press statement on Tuesday, Sheik Ahmed Al-Nasser said that Iran is not a party to Durra field, as it is a Kuwaiti-Saudi field, pointing out that only Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have exclusive rights to exploit and invest in this field, in accordance with the agreements signed between the two countries.

The crisis worsened last Saturday; The Iranian Foreign Ministry claimed that the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on the Durra natural gas field located in the Gulf waters was illegal.

“Iran’s right to invest is reserved from the al-Durra field, which is shared between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia”, Khateeb Zadeh, the ministry’s spokesperson, claimed. The Arash/Durra field is a joint field of Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and parts of it are within the unspecified waters between Iran and Kuwait.

Kuwait also rejected Iran’s claims that it owns part of the al-Durra gas field, considering it contrary to international law. Kuwait’s Al-Qabas newspaper quoted official sources as saying that the work to develop the submerged gas field will be in the southern part of the field, far from the areas where Iran claims to be entitled to participate.

The sources clarified that Iran insists on calculating the impact from the land, in a manner inconsistent with the international law for the delimitation of the maritime borders, stressing that these allegations are contrary to international law and the rules for the delimitation of the maritime borders.

The sources also stressed to Al-Qabas newspaper that Iran’s claims to participate in developing the Durra gas field are void.

A few days ago, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed a document to develop Durra marine field in implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries in December 2019, which included joint work on developing and exploiting Durra field.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said in a statement: The Durra field is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas and 84,000 barrels per day of condensates. Production will be divided equally between the two partners.

The Durra gas field is a permanent bone of contention between Kuwait and Iran; Tehran claims it has a say in it, and in 2000 the two countries began talks to end the dispute over the field, but did not produce any agreement.