Saudi Aramco seeks financing advisor for gas pipeline deal: report

Logo of Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco invited banks to pitch for an advisory role to help finance the sale of a significant minority stake in its gas pipelines, Reuters reported, citing informed sources.

The oil giant has already hired Morgan Stanley as a merger and acquisition (M&A) advisor, while the financing advisory role is up for grabs among banks, the sources said.

The deal is expected to be funded through bonds issuance, they said, adding that the gas pipeline stake sale will be a “copy paste” of the oil pipeline deal.

In April, Saudi Aramco signed a deal with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG) to optimize its assets through a lease-and-lease-back agreement involving its stabilized crude oil pipeline network.

As part of the transaction, Aramco Oil Pipelines Co., a newly-formed Aramco subsidiary, will lease usage rights in Aramco’s stabilized crude oil pipelines network for 25 years.

In June, Saudi Aramco and an international investor consortium, including EIG and Mubadala, successfully closed the share sale and purchase agreement, in which the consortium acquired a 49% stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Co. for $12.4 billion.