Saudi Aramco is looking to sell a stake in a gas...

BANGALORE/LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Aramco is looking to raise at least $17 billion from the sale of a significant minority stake in its gas pipelines, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday, more than $12.4 billion it raised from an oil pipeline deal. .
The sources said Aramco reached out to potential bidders, including private equity and infrastructure funds in North America, as well as state-backed funds in China and South Korea, through its advisors, ahead of the start of the formal sale process within the next few weeks.
One of the sources said that the size of the deal may include self-financing of 3.5 billion dollars, while the rest will be financed by bank loans, while another source mentioned that the size of the deal may exceed 20 billion dollars.
Saudi Arabia is the sixth largest gas market in the world, according to Aramco. The company’s master gas network enables the company to generate value from a range of existing gas reservoirs and deliver it to consumers.
Explaining why the gas deal is likely to have higher returns, a source familiar with the deal said, “The gas deal relates to a long-term vision for the use and consumption of gas in Saudi Arabia.” He added that many industries will switch to gas under the “Saudi Arabia 2030” economic vision, which means that demand Domestic gas will rise.
Sources said that Aramco is working with US investment banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs on this deal to attract potential buyers. Among the targeted companies were those that participated in the sale of a stake in gas pipelines belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which was bought by a group of investors, including Global Infrastructure Partners (GIB), Brookfield and the Sovereign Wealth Fund. In Singapore “GIC”
and the European SNAM.
Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Brookfield and SNAM declined to comment, and GIB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sources said that among other potential bidders showing interest in the Saudi Silk Road sales operation, the state-backed China Investment Fund (CNIC) and South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund – the Korea Investment Corporation (KII). C “NH Investments and Securities”.
KIC declined to comment, while the other companies did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Aramco, like the UAE’s ADNOC, relied on a lease-and-leaseback contract to sell a 49 percent stake in the newly established Aramco Oil Pipelines Company and 25-year rights to pay fees for oil transported by its pipelines.
The Saudi company is in advanced talks to acquire a stake of about 20 percent in the oil refining and chemical activities of India’s Reliance Industries in exchange for shares in Aramco, worth between $20 billion and $25 billion. An agreement could be reached in the coming weeks, according to the report, which was cited by informed sources.
The two companies declined to comment on the report.
During a press conference on Aramco’s earnings earlier this month, CEO Amin Nasser said the company was still conducting “due diligence” on the deal.
In late June, billionaire Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that the company hopes to formalize its partnership with Aramco this year, and announced that Aramco Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the board of directors of the Indian giant as an independent director. .» Shares of “Reliance” rose two percent yesterday to 2,187.80 rupees.