Kuwait Summons Iran Envoy over Disputed Gas Field Reports

Kuwait has summoned the Iranian regime's charge d'affairs and handed him an official protest over reports that Iran had published a brochure on investment opportunities at a disputed gas field, the Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA said.

The agency, quoting a foreign ministry statement, denied there had been any change to the status quo of the Dorra field which lies on the continental shelf between OPEC producers Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

KUNA, quoting an official source at the foreign ministry, said it summoned the Iranian regime's charge d'affairs on Sunday, following reports that the Iranian National Oil Company had issued a publication for investment opportunities in Iranian oil and gas fields, including in parts of the Dorra field.

Reuters news agency wrote that the off-shore gas field “has been a bone of contention between Tehran and Kuwait since the 1960s. Iran said in 2012 it planned to develop the portion under its control, and which it calls Arash field."

In 2013, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait shelved a project to develop the Dorra field after disagreeing over how to share the gas back on land.

The Dorra field is estimated to hold 60 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).