A Commander of the IRGC Says '40 Percent' of the Arash Gas Field Belongs to Iran

The commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that '40 percent' of the Arash gas field belongs to Iran. Abdolreza Abed said on Tuesday, May 29, to ILNA news agency that 'Iran's entry into the Arash field is more necessary than daily bread.' Officials of the Islamic Republic claim that the Arash gas field, located in the Persian Gulf and referred to as 'Al-Durra' by Arab countries, is shared among Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have rejected Iran's claims, stating that seismic results and exploratory operations conducted in the field indicate that all reserves are located in the territorial waters of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Two years ago, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum for the development of this field following the completion of exploration and assessment operations by the British company Shell. The Gulf Cooperation Council stated that Iran has no rights to the Arash gas field. Assessments indicate that this field has approximately 570 billion cubic meters of gas reserves and 310 million barrels of gas condensate (a type of ultra-light crude oil), requiring $7 billion in investment for development. The commander of Khatam al-Anbiya stated: 'The lack of determination and will for Iran to utilize the gas resources of the Arash field has led neighboring countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to start extracting from this field while we in Iran watch them until a decision is made for Iran's presence in the Arash field.' These remarks come as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have not yet begun the development project of this field to extract its resources. The Deputy CEO of Kuwait Petroleum announced last year that this gas field would be fully operational by 2029. General Abed further stated that the National Development Fund is ready to finance the presence of Khatam al-Anbiya in the Arash field, and negotiations are ongoing with other entities regarding how to implement the work, with the entry of Khatam al-Anbiya into the Arash field to be in the form of an engineering, procurement, and construction contract. According to Iran, seismic results from the National Iranian Oil Company's continental shelf indicate that 40 percent of the reserves of this field are located in Iranian waters, but despite Kuwait's insistence, the Islamic Republic has not invited any independent foreign companies for exploration operations and has not provided details of the assessments by the National Iranian Oil Company to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This field was discovered 60 years ago, and Iran held unfinished negotiations with Kuwait three decades ago to determine maritime borders, which have remained dormant since then. The Kuwaiti oil minister announced in July that Kuwait would not wait for border demarcation with Iran and would begin drilling in this gas field.