KUWAIT CITY, Feb 3: Kuwait plans to launch tenders later this year for the long-delayed Durra oil and gas field project in cooperation with Saudi Arabia, Oil Minister Tariq Al-Roumi said on Monday, signalling a decisive move toward full-scale development of one of the country’s most strategically important energy assets.

Al-Roumi said the Durra project, which he described as “very large,” is not facing any obstacles despite years of delays, adding that tenders of “all kinds” would be issued, without providing further details. He said the project is advancing along two parallel tracks in close coordination with Saudi Arabia, underscoring what he described as a unified vision and position between the two neighbours.

The disputed Durra gas field, located offshore in the Partitioned Neutral Zone, has emerged as a cornerstone of future energy strategies for both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as the two Gulf states move from diplomacy to execution despite continuing objections from Iran.

Al-Roumi’s announcement marks the start of full implementation after years of political and legal contention, signalling growing confidence in the joint Kuwaiti-Saudi stance and a determination to translate long-standing agreements into tangible production.

His remarks echo repeated affirmations by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that ownership of natural resources in the offshore area of the Partitioned Neutral Zone, including the Durra field, is shared exclusively between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Successive GCC summits and joint statements have rejected Iranian claims to the field, insisting it lies entirely within the two countries’ sovereign maritime boundaries.

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia base their position on formally documented border demarcation agreements and have repeatedly called on Iran to engage in negotiations over the eastern boundary of the offshore zone in line with international law. Gulf officials have consistently stressed that the Durra field is located west of that boundary.

Describing Durra as a project requiring extensive engineering, construction, and advanced technical work, Al-Roumi said conditions were “more than fine,” a statement widely seen as reassurance to global markets and potential investors that bilateral coordination is solid, both legally and logistically.

Once operational, the field is expected to produce about one billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, along with roughly 84,000 barrels of condensates, potentially supporting major industrial expansion in both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The dispute over Durra dates back to 1967, when concessions granted by Iran to British Petroleum overlapped with those awarded by Kuwait to Shell in the northern part of the field. While Tehran maintains the reservoir extends into its territorial waters, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia insist it lies entirely within their jointly administered offshore zone.

Despite multiple rounds of talks, most recently in 2023 and 2024, negotiations have failed to produce a breakthrough, largely due to Iran’s insistence on what it calls historical rights, which Gulf states say have no basis in international law. Since the start of this year, Iranian officials have continued to hint at unilateral exploration, warning that Gulf steps would cross “red lines,” language Kuwait and Saudi Arabia view as legally unfounded.

The decision to proceed with tendering is widely seen as an effort to impose a new reality on the ground, ending years of political ambiguity and transforming the Durra field from a source of dispute into a symbol of Gulf economic integration, energy security, and sovereignty.