Saudi Aramco has signed a USD 11-billion lease and leaseback deal for its Jafurah midstream assets with an international investor group led by Global Infrastructure Partners, the company said on Thursday.
The transaction includes leasing the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility to a new subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Company, and leasing them back to Aramco for 20 years.
Jafurah Midstream Gas Company will collect tariffs from Aramco, which retains exclusive rights to process raw gas from the Jafurah gasfield, the largest non-associated gas development in Saudi Arabia.
The investment supports Aramco’s strategy to raise natural gas production capacity by more than 60% by 2030 and monetise non-core infrastructure assets.
Aramco will retain 51% ownership in the new entity, while the remaining 49% will be held by the GIP-led consortium, including investors from Asia and the Middle East.
“Jafurah is a cornerstone of our ambitious gas expansion programme, and the GIP-led consortium’s participation as investors in a key component of our unconventional gas operations demonstrates the attractive value proposition of the project,” Aramco president and CEO Amin H. Nasser said.
“As Jafurah prepares to start phase one production this year, development of subsequent phases is well on track. We look forward to Jafurah playing a major role as a feedstock provider to the petrochemicals sector, and supplying energy required to power new growth sectors, such as AI data centres, in the Kingdom.”
The Jafurah project is Aramco’s largest unconventional gas development, with estimated reserves of 6.49 tcm (229 tcf) of raw gas. Located in the Eastern Province, the development includes upstream production, gas processing and NGL recovery facilities. Phase one production is set to begin in 2025, with plans to reach a peak capacity of 56.6 mcm (2 bcf) per day.
Global Infrastructure Partners is a global fund manager focused on energy, transport and water infrastructure assets. It has a long-standing relationship with Aramco, including a previous stake in Aramco Gas Pipelines Company.