Kuwait’s Oil Minister Saad Al Barrak told Sky News Arabia on Thursday his country will start drilling and begin production at the Durra gas field without waiting for border demarcation with Iran.
On July 3, Al Barrak, stated that Kuwait categorically rejects the Iranian claims and actions regarding the Durra oil field in the Gulf.
According to the Kuwaiti News Agency, Al Barrak emphasized that the Durra oil field boasts natural wealth that belongs to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and no other party has any rights to it until the maritime boundaries are demarcated.
“We were surprised by the Iranian claims and intentions regarding the Durra oil field, which contradict the most basic principles of international relations,” he stressed.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry had declared that the maritime region containing the Durra oil field is situated within the territorial waters of Kuwait.
The natural resources in this area are jointly shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and they alone possess exclusive rights to the natural wealth in Durra.
On July 4, a reliable source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the ownership of natural resources in the demarcated submerged area, including the entire Durra oil field, is a shared solely between the Kingdom and Kuwait.
Both countries have full sovereign rights to exploit the resources in that area.
Saudi Arabia reiterated its previous calls to Iran to commence negotiations on demarcating the eastern boundary of the demarcated submerged area between the Kingdom and Kuwait as a single negotiating party, according to international law.
On March 21, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement for the development of the Durra field to produce one billion standard cubic feet of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of condensates daily, which will be shared between the two neighbors.
