Iran sets eyes on joint Kuwaiti oil field

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TEHRAN, March 19 (UPI) -- Iran is pursuing a national policy of extracting crude oil from shared oil fields as part of an effort to expand overall production, an official said.

Mahmoud Zirakchian-Zadeh, managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Co., said getting crude from oil fields along its borders was a national priority. Oil production from shared fields, he said, increased 10 percent last year.

"Iran still insists on its positive diplomacy of expansion of Arash oilfield and it is ready to cooperate with the brother, Muslim, and neighboring country of Kuwait," he was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying.

Zirakchian-Zadeh early this year said partnerships were favorable to competition but noted Iran would go it alone if Kuwait wasn't ready to work with Tehran.

Iran estimates the Arash field, known on the Kuwaiti side as Dorra, holds an estimated 310 million barrels of oil.

Iran and Kuwait haven't agreed on a maritime border. Kuwait has explored its part of the field through a joint venture with Saudi Arabia.