BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 3. Iran has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbon reserves at the “Arash” gas field, located between Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, while the question of ownership remains under the close attention of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the country's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said after a Cabinet meeting, Trend reports.
The field was discovered in 1975, and Iran initiated its
inaugural exploratory drilling operation, designated Arash 1,
approximately 25 years later in 2000. Paknejad observed that the
borehole attains a profundity of approximately 750 meters and is
situated in proximity to predefined perimeters.
“At present, the matter of proprietorship regarding this domain is
under meticulous scrutiny by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” Upon
the culmination of the legal framework, the Iranian Oil Ministry is
poised to initiate the requisite protocols for the advancement of
the field contingent upon Iran's equity participation,” he
articulated.
The Arash (Dorra) gas field in the Persian Gulf is estimated to contain around 20 trillion cubic feet (about 600 billion cubic meters) of gas and close to 310 million barrels of oil. In 2022, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement to develop the Dorra field, targeting daily production of 1 billion cubic feet (about 28.3 million cubic meters) of gas and 84,000 barrels of condensate. Iran has not fully accepted this agreement and has sought negotiations to resolve development and ownership issues.
As many as 74 oil fields and 22 gas fields are currently operating in Iran. There are 37 oil fields in the territory of the National Company of Iran's Southern Oil Zones, 14 in the territory of the Iranian Central Oil Zones Company, five in the territory of the Arvandan Oil and Gas Production Company, and 18 in the territory of the Offshore Oil Company. Additionally, the South Oil Zones National Company of Iran operates five gas fields, the Central Oil Zones Company operates 13, the Pars Oil and Gas Company operates one, and the Offshore Oil Company operates three.
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