Saudi Aramco agreed to sell a 49% stake in its natural-gas pipeline business to a consortium led by BlackRock Inc. and Saudi-backed Hassana Investment Co. for $15.5 billion—the state-owned oil giant’s latest move to pull cash out of its vast energy infrastructure.
The deal follows a pattern used when Aramco agreed to sell a similar sized stake in its oil pipeline network in April for $12.4 billion to a group led by EIG Global Energy Partners. Aramco, officially called the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. , said Monday it had formed a new subsidiary, Aramco Gas Pipelines Co., that will lease usage rights in Aramco’s gas-pipelines network. It agreed to sell 49% of the new company to the consortium led by BlackRock unit BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana. Hassana is the asset-management arm of Saudi Arabia’s General Organization for Social Insurance.
