KUWAIT CITY, March 26: Kuwait’s Oil Minister Dr. Muhammad Al-Faris and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz have signed an agreement to develop and exploit the Al-Durra oil field in the Arabian Gulf, reports Al-Rai daily. However, following the signing of the agreement Iran claimed today, Saturday that the Durra gas field is shared between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and that Tehran also reserves the right to exploit it. Meanwhile, the Al-Khafji Joint Operations Company, a joint venture between Aramco Gulf Operations Company and the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, will agree on selecting a consultant who will conduct the engineering studies necessary to develop the field in accordance with the best methods, modern technologies and practices that take into account safety and environment protection and develop the most efficient and effective engineering designs from a capital and operational point of view.

“The Arash/Durra gas field is a joint field between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Twitter. “There are parts of it in the unspecified waters between Iran and Kuwait, and the Islamic Republic also reserves the right to exploit the gas field,” the sources added. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh claimed that the latest move by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which came within the framework of a cooperation document, is “an illegal step that has no effect on the legal status of the field,” noting that it “does not have Iran’s approval.” He announced Iran’s readiness to enter into negotiations with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on how to invest in this field and to continue bilateral negotiations with Kuwait within the framework of the results of previous negotiations with it on defining the boundaries of the continental shelf, as well as the start of tripartite negotiations to determine the tripartite point between these countries.