Kuwait, S. Arabia to start drilling in Arash field

As Iran seeks to jointly invest in the Arash gas field with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the two Arab states are expanding the scope of offshore exploration.

The massive Arash field is shared by Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where it is known as 'Dorra', and is a contested area between Tehran and Kuwait.

The Arash field reserves are believed to contain around 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

According to the Energy Intelligence website, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have set up a joint venture called 'Khafji Joint Operations' to start a fresh offshore drilling campaign.

The venture, owned by Aramco Gulf Operations and Kuwait Gulf Oil Co., will carry out exploration work in an area shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Last year, Head of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, told Shana news agency that the three neighboring countries could jointly invest in the field, develop it and finally, export natural gas from the field to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Kuwait claims it owns more than 50 percent of the field, while Iran believes that the two countries have equal ownership.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=110088§ionid=351020103.