Iran will pursue its rights over Arash gas field
In a Persian‑language interview, energy analyst Omid Shokri (based in Washington) explains why Iran has struggled to develop its shared offshore oil‑and‑gas fields—most notably the Arash/Pars complex—despite having legal rights to a substantial share. He outlines the geography of the joint fields (26‑28 reservoirs shared with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates) and notes that countries such as Qatar have already attracted foreign capital to extract gas, turning those fields into major export sources. Shokri argues that sanctions and the absence of foreign investment have prevented Iran from financing the necessary infrastructure, limiting its ability to tap its own gas reserves, meet domestic electricity demand, and play a stronger role in OPEC. He also discusses the strategic calculus of regional powers: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait seek to secure their own gas supplies, while Iran could, if it could mobilise capital, use the shared fields to alleviate its electricity‑generation crisis and increase regional influence. The interview ends with a call for Iran to assert its contractual rights and seek ways—through diplomatic pressure or alternative financing—to overcome the current impasse.
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