SAUDI ARAMCO signed an $11 billion lease and leaseback agreement involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), part of BlackRock, it said on Thursday.
Under the deal, a newly formed subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Company (JMGC), will lease development and usage rights for the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility, and lease them back to Aramco for 20 years, the Saudi company added in a statement.
This is the latest in a series of financial arrangements, akin to borrowing, that allow Gulf oil producing countries to raise money to diversify their economies while promising investors a stable revenue stream.
The $100 billion Jafurah project, potentially the biggest shale gas project outside the United States, is central to Aramco’s ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and boost its gas production capacity by 60% by 2030 from 2021 levels.
Jafurah is estimated to contain 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion Stock Tank Barrels of condensate.
Aramco will hold a 51% majority stake in JMGC, with the remaining 49% held by investors led by GIP, Aramco said.
In July, two sources told Reuters the state oil company was close to securing around $10 billion from a BlackRock-led group to invest in Jafurah’s infrastructure. – Reuters
