Saudi Arabia’s energy giant said it struck a $12.4 billion deal to sell a 49% stake in a newly formed oil pipeline business to an international consortium led by U.S. investment firm EIG Global Energy Partners.
Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. is also a member of the consortium, which will likely eventually include Chinese and Saudi investors as well, people familiar with the matter said.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Friday that Saudi Arabian Oil Co. , known as Aramco, was set to announce the deal.
The move represents another far-reaching attempt to monetize Saudi Arabia’s prodigious oil assets—once considered so strategic that even a minority stake sale seemed far-fetched. With the ascension of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, however, the kingdom has been more willing to lure foreign investors and cede some access to its oil assets in exchange for cash. Over several years, Prince Mohammed promoted an international listing of Aramco shares, before ultimately deciding on a local listing of a very small slice of the company.
Under Friday’s deal, Aramco is creating a new joint-venture company, Aramco Oil Pipelines Co., which will have rights to 25 years of tariff payments for oil transported through Aramco’s pipeline network.
