AhlulBayt News Agency – A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has stated that Iran’s share of the disputed Arash gas field in the Persian Gulf, which lies along undemarcated borders with Kuwait, is approximately 40%.
Brigadier General Abdorreza Abed, head of the IRGC’s construction division, announced on Saturday that Iran is awaiting the outcome of diplomatic negotiations with Kuwait before commencing development work on the gas field, known in Kuwait as Durra.
“Iran’s share in the Arash field, which is around 40%, must be secured to begin production,” Abed said in remarks broadcast by state television.
His statement comes nearly three years after Iran responded to reports that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had agreed to develop the Arash gas field without acknowledging Iran’s stake.
In early 2022, Tehran moved one of its production platforms into waters containing the field and warned that it would begin drilling if Kuwait failed to recognize Iran’s rights to the reservoir.
Some expert analyses suggest that over 70% of the gas field’s resources—estimated at up to 60 trillion cubic feet (1.7 trillion cubic meters) of gas—are located in waters claimed by Iran under its maritime border dispute with Kuwait.
Abed dismissed Kuwait and Saudi Arabia’s assertions of exclusive rights over the field, emphasizing that the reservoir is shared and Iran has a legitimate stake in it.
He further stated that the IRGC’s construction division, a key contractor in Iran’s petroleum sector, will continue to pursue the matter, noting that Kuwait has yet to initiate a full-scale development project for the field.
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