Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have exclusive ownership of natural resources in Al-Durra

 The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have said that the natural resources in the divided submerged area of the Arabian Gulf, including the entire Al-Durra gas field, are jointly owned by the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia announced that the Kingdom and Kuwait “exclusively have full sovereign rights to exploit the wealth in the Al-Durra gas field.”

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia also reiterated "their previous and repeated calls" to the Islamic Republic of Iran to negotiate the eastern border of the submerged area, which is divided among Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. 

The Al-Durra gas field is located in the neutral zone between Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia reject Iran’s claims over the area. The Durra gas field began production of natural gas in 2013. 

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait said that they were prepared to commence drilling in the Al-Durra field to “explore and exploit” the oil field. These two countries proposed that the negotiations on the gas field be held with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as one side and Iran as the other side, in accordance with international law. They aim to settle the matter peacefully.

Iran has repeatedly claimed its rights over the Durra/Arash field. Javad Owji, the Minister of Oil of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said, “If there is no willingness to cooperate, Iran will pursue its rights and benefits, including the exploitation and exploration of the gas field.”

Last week, Saad Al-Barrak, the Minister of Oil of Kuwait, said that his country would start drilling and production at the Durra gas field without waiting for Iran's border demarcation.

He further said, “The maritime area where Al Durra field lies is part of Kuwait’s sea territories.”