Kuwait has lodged an official protest with Tehran over statements that Iran plans to unilaterally develop a disputed gas field in the Gulf. 

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah summoned Iran’s Charge d’Affaires Sayed Tahabi to present a protest letter over statements reported in the Iranian press that Iran would go ahead with the development of the Arash field, according to state-run Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) on 3 January.

On 1 January, Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, chairman of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), was quoted by Iranian media outlets as saying Tehran would unilaterally develop the Arash gas field if Kuwait did not accept an offer for joint development.

“The two parties should not take any unilateral action in the area until it has been demarcated,” Al-Jarallah told the Iranian diplomat.

The field is estimated to contain about 7 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves. Known as the Dorra field in Kuwait, the field has been a source of dispute between the two nations since the 1960s, with maritime boundaries still unsettled.

The two have been in talks for more than 10 years and the issues remains a thorn in the side of Kuwait-Iran relations, according to one former Kuwaiti foreign minister.

Complicating the situation further is Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the Neutral Zone with Kuwait. Al-Khafji Joint Operations (KJO), a joint venture of oil major Saudi Aramco’s Gulf Operations Company and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company. KJO plans to release a $1.5bn-plus engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Dorra gas field in late 20011 or early 2012 (MEED 29:7:11).