Aramco Nears $10 Billion Jafurah Pipeline Stake Sale to GIP
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to sell a roughly $10 billion stake in midstream infrastructure serving the giant Jafurah natural gas project to a group led by BlackRock Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The consortium is backed by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners unit and could reach an agreement as soon as the coming days, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The deal will involve pipelines and other infrastructure serving the $100 billion-plus Jafurah project, which Aramco is developing to supply domestic power plants as well as for export. It’s an unconventional field, meaning the gas is trapped in hard-to-access rock formations and requires special techniques to extract.
Reuters reported on Thursday that GIP was nearing a deal, citing unidentified people. Aramco didn’t respond to emailed queries outside regular business hours in Saudi Arabia.
Bloomberg News first revealed in 2021 that Aramco was considering introducing outside investors into parts of the Jafurah project. Aramco was approaching infrastructure funds to gauge their interest in the midstream assets, people with knowledge of the matter said the next year.
State-controlled Aramco has been seeking to bring in international capital and sell stakes in some assets as the government pursues massive projects to build futuristic cities and diversify its economy. The kingdom is pushing ahead with a vast expansion, including developing new tourism destinations and building up a manufacturing base, to prepare for a future in which oil demand will begin to wane.
BlackRock was earlier among investors that bought stakes in Aramco’s national gas pipeline network.
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