Oil & Gas

Iraq and Kuwait have made significant progress in their long-standing negotiations over the shared production of border oilfields, according to Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani. Following a meeting with a high-level Kuwaiti oil ministry delegation in Baghdad, Abdul Ghani emphasized that both nations have the right to invest in and benefit from the joint development of these fields. He stated that Iraq is eager to strengthen its relationship with Kuwait through cooperative investment in the border oilfields to support their mutual economic interests.

The talks focused on production-sharing mechanisms, with Iraqi media reporting that the discussions mark a major step forward in resolving a dispute that has lingered for decades. Abdul Ghani highlighted that Iraq and Kuwait have made "big strides" in reaching a mutual understanding to invest in the fields, underscoring their shared entitlement to the wealth within those reserves. This move reflects both countries’ willingness to collaborate on managing and benefiting from their vast natural resources.

The dispute has been historically sensitive. In the past, Iraqi officials, including former Basra governor Wael Abdul Latif, have accused Kuwait of using directional drilling techniques to siphon crude from joint fields—claims Kuwait has consistently denied. Similar accusations were made by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the lead-up to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Both countries are founding members of OPEC and hold some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with Iraq holding more than 145 billion barrels and Kuwait about 101 billion.

In 2019, the two nations signed an agreement in Amman to conduct a technical study on their joint-frontier oilfields. They appointed UK-based energy consultancy ERC Equipoise to evaluate the best methods for tapping these shared resources. Iraq and Kuwait share five major border oilfields, including the vast Rumaila field, which stretches extensively across both territories. Al-Zubair, another key field, houses over 100 active wells. Iraq has also laid claim to the Durra gas field, jointly managed by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, but both those nations have rejected Iraq’s claims.