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The dispute between Kuwait and Iran over an offshore gas field that also involves Saudi Arabia escalated on Monday as Kuwait condemned purported Iranian drilling plans for the field.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Saad Al-Barrak said that the Gulf state “rejects” Iran’s planned drilling in the Durra gas field.
“We categorically and totally reject Iran’s planned activities around the premises of the Durra offshore gas field,” he said, according to the official Kuwait News Agency.
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.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the matter.
Background: The Durra gas field — which Iran calls the Arash field — is located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait consider the field to be located within their neutral zone, though Iran claims a northern part of the field.
The dispute dates back to the 1960s when Iran and Kuwait awarded overlapping offshore concessions for the field following its discovery. Saudi Arabia started talks on developing the field in the 2000s, but these talks stopped in 2013 amid disagreements on gas production sharing and pipelines, according to the Middle East Institute.
Last year, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement to finally develop the field. Iran called the deal “illegal” at the time, according to Agence France-Presse.
Kuwait’s statement follows Mohsen Khojsteh Mehr, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, saying in the last meeting that there is “full preparation to start drilling” in the field, according to AFP.
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Monday that Iran decided to start drilling plans in Durra after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia indicated their position that Iran does not have a claim to the field during talks on the issue. The outlet cited an unnamed source in the National Iranian Oil Company. Al-Jarida’s report was picked up by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.
Iran and Kuwait held talks on their maritime border in March. China brokered the agreement that resumed relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran the same month.
Why it matters: The dispute is a potential sign of tension between Iran and the two Gulf states. Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia have improved dramatically since the two formally agreed to resume ties. Last month, Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia for the first time since relations were severed in 2016.
Saudi Arabia and Iran cut ties that year after the kingdom executed prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Kuwait also severed ties with Iran at the time.
Kuwait resumed relations with Iran in 2022, and ties are now improving. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Kuwait in June as part of a Gulf diplomatic tour.
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has historically remained neutral in Gulf disputes.
Durra is also significant to Kuwait because the country, though rich in oil, has relatively little natural gas, according to the Middle East Institute.
Know more: Saudi Arabia on Monday announced that it will prolong its oil production cut by one month. The decision came ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran are all members of OPEC.
