Iran stirs controversy over calls for investment in a disputed gas field

Kuwait has summoned the Iranian envoy after Tehran issued a brochure offering investment opportunities in the disputed Dorra gas field, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA said.

Tehran and Kuwait have been in dispute over the offshore gas field since the 1960s. However, in 2012 Iran said it planned to develop the portion under its control, and called it the Arash gas field.

During meetings with foreign government representatives, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) presented investment possibilities in the Islamic republic, which “covered areas located near the Kuwaiti oilfield”.

KUNA reported a Kuwaiti foreign ministry statement which denied there had been any change to the status quo of the Dorra field.

“The foreign ministry is taking all the necessary measures to safeguard the rights of the state of Kuwait within the context of reinforcing its ties on the regional and international levels and which conform to international law,” KUNA reported.