Iranian geologists have been trespassing into Kuwait’s territorial waters to conduct seismic scans in the Durra and Lulu offshore oil fields, a senior Kuwaiti oil sector official has told the Kuwaiti Times.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said that Kuwaiti authorities are aware of the Iranian scientists’ intrusion into Kuwaiti waters, “which happen at least once a month,” suggesting that the scans aim to assess the oilfields’ reserves.
The Iranians’ incursions into these areas “violate the privacy of work on the fields’ premises,” the official asserted, warning that the information gained during these trips “could be used to put pressure on Kuwait to share the fields with Iran.
Kuwait’s state oil company, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), plans to utilize the offshore fields as part of its current five-year plan, which concludes at the end of 2013, the official explained, adding that Kuwait already spent more than $40 million on seismic scans and other procedures in the two fields prior to beginning the drilling process.
