Saudi Arabia's national oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has completed the 20-year lease and leaseback agreements signed in December 2021 with a consortium led by BlackRock and involving its gas pipeline network. The consortium, which also includes Hassana (the investment management arm of the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) in Saudi Arabia), Keppel Infrastructure Trust, Silk Road Fund, and China Merchants Capital among others, has thus acquired a 49% stake in Saudi Aramco's subsidiary, Aramco Gas Pipelines Company, for US$15.5bn. Under the terms of the agreement, Aramco Gas Pipelines Company will lease usage rights in Aramco’s gas pipelines network and lease them back to Aramco for a 20-year period. In return, Aramco Gas Pipelines Company will receive a tariff payable by Aramco for the gas products that will flow through the network, backed by minimum commitments on throughput.
Aramco, which has exclusive access to gas exploration and production in the country, will continue to retain full ownership and operational control of its gas pipeline network and will continue to be in charge of the transportation of gas across Saudi Arabia through its Master Gas System that supplies gas to power plants and large industries.