At the conclusion of its 161st meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September 2024, the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) affirmed in its final communique that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have joint exclusive right to exploit the natural resources in
Al Durra gas field.
According to international law and based on agreements between them, the field lies entirely in the territorial water of the State of Kuwait, adjacent to the Kuwaiti-Saudi Partitioned Neutral Zone.
The Council firmly rejected any claims of rights by any other party — alluding to Iran —
to intrude in this area.
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed stressed his country’s support for Kuwaiti sovereignty over Al Durra field and its right to the natural resources that lie in the bottom of the Arabian Gulf.
The ownership of the region is shared between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. And they alone, the minister added, have exclusive rights to any natural resources, in accordance with the provisions of international law and based on the agreements concluded and taken effect between the two countries.
Kuwait and Iran have held talks for years on the disputed maritime border area rich in natural gas, but those talks did not lead to any settlement. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had previously announced that they were the sole owners of Al Durra offshore gas field, responding to an Iranian threat to continue exploration operations in the disputed region.
Among the world’s top energy fields, Al Durra is thought to hold proven reserves of up to 20 trillion cubic feet of gas and up to 300 million barrels of oil.
In March 2022, Kuwait signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to develop Al Durra field, allowing production of 1 billion cubic feet of gas equally between both nations.
Sources: aljazeera.net, alaraby.co.uk, The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington