Kuwait renews calls for Iran to demarcate maritime borders

By Mohammad Abdullah

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AA) – Kuwait renewed its call for Iran on Monday to demarcate maritime borders between the two countries.

The state news agency KUNA, citing a Foreign Ministry source, said the offshore Durra gas field is located in Kuwait’s sea territories.

“Natural resources in this area are shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” the source said.

He added that only Kuwait and Saudi Arabia “have the exclusive rights to the natural resource of Durra field.”

The Kuwaiti source renewed calls for Tehran “to start negotiations over the demarcation of the maritime boundary between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and the Iranian side on the other hand.”

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had previously sent invitations to Iran to negotiate regarding the delineation of the eastern border of the submerged divided zone. Tehran did not respond to these calls.

The Durra gas field was discovered in the Gulf waters in the 1960s, and it has been the subject of a long dispute between Kuwait and Iran.

The gas field is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of gas and 84,000 barrels of condensate per day, according to reports.

The field contains large gas reserves, with some estimates putting it at 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 300 million barrels of oil.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi