Tehran has the right to exploit joint Iran-Kuwait-Saudi gas field, foreign minister says

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia agreed last Monday to develop the Durra gas field, which is located between them and Iran.

The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Iran said on Saturday that a document signed between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait this week to develop the Durra gas field was "illegal" since Tehran also has a share in the field and must be included in any action to operate and develop it.

Kuwait signed a document with Saudi Arabia to develop the Durra field, which is expected to produce a billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 84,000 barrels per day of condensates, according to a statement last Monday by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.

"The Arash/Al-Durra gas field is a joint field between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia," Iran's foreign ministry said in a tweet.

"Parts of it are located in areas between Iran and Kuwait whose water boundaries have not been defined. The Islamic Republic of Iran also reserves the right to exploit the gas field," it said.

"The recent move by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in the framework of a cooperation document is contrary to what has been previously negotiated, and is illegal," Iranian media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.

"Any action in the operation and development of this field must be in coordination with all three countries."

 IN A ONCE-UNTHINKABLE development, the Mubadala Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, invested $1 billion in the Tamar natural gas field. (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90)
IN A ONCE-UNTHINKABLE development, the Mubadala Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, invested $1 billion in the Tamar natural gas field. (credit: MOSHE SHAI/FLASH90)