Saudi oil giant Aramco seals $12.4 billion deal to sell stake in pipelines network

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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.</p>
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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.</p>
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Aramco will retain a 51% stake in the new company.</p>
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Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala is in discussions on being part of it, a spokesman said.</p>
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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.</p>
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"We will continue to explore opportunities that underpin our strategy of long-term value creation," CEO Amin Nasser said.</p>
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Other bidders in the deal process included Apollo Global Management and New York-based Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).</p>
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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.</p>