Saudi oil producer Aramco has sealed a $12.4 billion deal to sell a 49% stake in its oil pipelines network to a consortium led by U.S.-based EIG Global Energy Partners.

The lease and leaseback agreement includes a 49% stake of newly formed Aramco Oil Pipelines Co and rights to 25 years of tariff payments for oil carried on Aramco's pipelines, it said in a statement.

Aramco will retain a 51% stake in the new company.

Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala is in discussions on being part of it, a spokesman said.

Aramco will retain operational control of the pipeline network and assume all operating and capital expense risk, the companies said. The deal has no link with Aramco's oil production.

"We will continue to explore opportunities that underpin our strategy of long-term value creation," CEO Amin Nasser said.

Other bidders in the deal process included Apollo Global Management and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

Abu Dhabi's National Oil Co (ADNOC) has signed similar deals over the last two years, raising billions of dollars through sale-and-leaseback agreements tied to its oil and gas pipelines.