Kuwait's KPC signs $16 billion lease & leaseback deal with Blackstone, KKR, Brookfield for oil pipeline network

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has signed a $16 billion deal involving its crude oil pipeline network with a consortium comprising global funds Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR, the state-owned Gulf firm ‌said ⁠on Saturday.

It ⁠said it was the largest foreign direct ​investment in the country's history.

Under the investment called Project Peregrine, KPC's unit Kuwait Oil Company is establishing a joint venture with the three U.S. investors in a lease ⁠and leaseback ‌structure for a 20.5-year period that includes a volume-based tariff, KPC said in ⁠a statement.


The deal is part of ​a broader push by Gulf state ​oil companies and sovereign investors to raise funds from infrastructure assets and attract foreign capital, as they look to fund domestic investment plans.

Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR will ‌collectively hold a 49% stake in the joint venture, while KOC will ​retain a ​51% stake ⁠as well as full ownership and operational control of the network, which comprises 13 pipelines spanning ​a total of around 320 kilometres (199 miles).

The transaction is expected to generate $7.85 billion in upfront proceeds at closing.