Part of the signing of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to develop the Dorra field (Kuwaiti press)

The management of joint oil and gas fields between the Gulf states and Iran is a thorny and complex issue, in which economic, political, and security interests are intertwined, creating major challenges in terms of cooperation and dialogue.

Since last year, diplomatic skirmishes have escalated over the Durra gas field, located on the borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as Tehran confirms that it owns a share in the field shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, while the Gulf countries are demanding that Iran demarcate the borders in order to prove its rights.

The field was discovered in the waters of the Gulf in 1967, and has been the subject of a long dispute between Kuwait and Iran for a long time, as the part of the field located in Kuwait is called “Al-Durrah,” and the part located on the Iranian side is called “Arash.”

The dispute over the field dates back to the 1960s, when Iran and Kuwait each granted two offshore concessions, one to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (before it became BP), and the other to Royal Dutch Shell.

The two concessions were in the northern part of the field, whose explorable reserves are estimated at about 220 billion cubic metres.

Last year, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to jointly develop the field despite opposition from Iran, which described the agreement as “illegal.”

The two countries seek to develop the Dorra field to produce up to one billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, in addition to producing 84 thousand barrels of condensate per day.

The dispute between the two sides witnessed a new chapter, after the Gulf Cooperation Council countries announced, at the beginning of this month, that the wealth of the Dorra oil field belonged to the two Gulf countries only.

This came in a statement that followed a meeting of the foreign ministers of the six members: Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain, hosted by Saudi Arabia.

The disputed location of the Dorra field between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Iran on the other (Al Jazeera)

 A complex crisis

Regarding this file, Saudi analyst and economic expert Khaled Al-Ansari says that his country and other Gulf states attach utmost importance to the issue of managing the joint oil and gas fields with Iran, given that it represents a vital source of economy and security in the region, and contributes significantly to meeting global energy needs.

Al-Ansari added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that despite the clarity of the Gulf position, especially the Saudi position, which confirms that the wealth of the Dorra field belongs only to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the Kingdom has called on the Iranian side on several occasions to resolve border disputes.

He points out that, despite this, no final solutions have been reached that would lead to exploitation of the field, explaining that Iranian demands will not produce a legal right, and that the only solution lies in technical and legal negotiations.

He stresses that the position of the Kingdom and the Gulf states is an affirmation of the necessity of adhering to international laws and legal frameworks in resolving disputes related to the joint oil and gas fields, stressing that Saudi Arabia will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to protect its rights in the Durrah field in accordance with international laws and maritime border demarcation agreements.

Despite the complexity and complexity of the crisis related to the Dorra field, the Saudi analyst believes that there is a possibility to resolve it through dialogue and negotiation, pointing out that there are previous successful experiences in resolving disputes over oil and gas fields shared between Iran and some Gulf countries, such as Qatar.

Al-Ansari points out that the maritime border demarcation agreement between Qatar and Iran is a model that can be used to resolve the crisis related to the Dorra field.

Foreign Affairs: The marine area in which the Durrah Field is located is located in the marine areas of the State of Kuwait, and the natural resources therein are shared between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and they alone have exclusive rights to the natural resources in the Durrah Field. #KUNA #Kuwait pic.twitter.com/ad2lwuiKMp

- KUNA (@kuna_ar) July 3, 2023

28 common fields

On the other hand, data indicate that Iran has discovered new fields continuously in the years following the 1979 revolution, with the exception of the period of the Iran-Iraq war. During this period, as many as 73 fields were discovered, consisting of 36 oil fields and 37 gas fields. .

Iran has at least 28 joint fields, including 18 oil fields, 4 gas fields, and 6 oil and gas fields with neighboring countries, and it is one of the few countries in the world that has this number of joint fields.

Of these 28 fields, Iran owns 12 joint fields with Iraq, 7 joint fields with the UAE, two joint fields with Qatar and the Sultanate of Oman, and one joint field with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Turkmenistan.

The joint North Gas Field, which is located in the Arabian Gulf and on the common border between Iran and Qatar, is the largest gas field in the world, with the total gas reserves in this field reaching 39 trillion cubic meters, and its gas condensate reserves amounting to 56 billion barrels.

Of this quantity, Iran’s share in its gas sector is estimated at 14 trillion cubic meters and in gas condensates at 18 billion barrels, equivalent to 8% of the world’s gas.

Iran owns 10% of the world's oil reserves and 18% of its natural gas reserves. 42% of Iran's gas reserves are shared with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Qatar, and 14% of Iran's oil reserves are shared with Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Iraq.

Therefore, a large portion of Iran's oil and gas reserves is located in fields shared between Iran and its neighbors. These fields are geologically complementary and shared in terms of ownership.

As for the “Dorra” field, which Iran calls “Arash,” the Iranian Legal Vice President, Mohammad Dehghan, said this March that part of the “Dorra” gas and oil field belongs to Iran.

He added that we do not have a maritime border with Kuwait, but we discovered this field and drilled a well there several years ago, and we believe that “Al-Durra” is a partner, and if Kuwait starts extracting from the field, we will also start doing so.

Minister of Oil: We completely reject the Iranian allegations and measures regarding the Dorra field, which is a Kuwaiti-Saudi natural resource in which no other party has any rights until the maritime borders are demarcated https://t.co/zb4va6vVYm#KUNA #Kuwait pic.twitter.com/2NIm9SXtsN

- KUNA (@kuna_ar) July 3, 2023

 Economic reasons

In a separate context, energy expert Hamid Reza Shikouhi believed that the inauguration and Iranian production from the joint fields is less than what is required and this is due to the sanctions imposed on Iran, as extracting oil and gas requires foreign investment as well as the import of technologies that Iran does not possess, while the sanctions prevent all of this.

He added in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that Iran has begun developing some fields at home, such as Sepehr and Juffair, relying on local technology and investment through a private Iranian company.

Shokohi explained that Iran cannot increase pressure in the South Pars field (in Qatar it is called the North Gas Field) due to its lack of the necessary technology, and there are joint fields in the Caspian Sea from which Iran cannot produce for the same reason.

Regarding the northern Iranian fields, he said that Iran was unable to extract gas from the Caspian Sea due to the depth of the sea water and that it does not possess these technologies due to sanctions.

The expert continued that the depth of the Caspian Sea is much greater than the Gulf, explaining that extraction from other fields in the south and west is easier and at a lower cost, so Iran did not pay much attention to launching the northern fields.

Regarding the controversy over the Dorra field, Shukouhi said that years ago, Kuwait agreed that the Dorra field was shared between it and Iran and spoke about this matter, but it rejected that recently.

For his part, Iranian energy expert Bahman Arman saw that with regard to production from fields shared with neighbors, there is a major failure due to political tensions with neighboring countries and sanctions, as they are reflected in the production of oil and gas from shared fields.

He told Al Jazeera Net that Iran does not possess modern technologies because of the sanctions, and for the same reason China did not invest in the Iranian energy sector and Russia did not implement its agreement with Iran regarding investment in the oil and gas sector for economic reasons.

Source: Al Jazeera