KOC signs $16B pipeline JV; Blackstone, Brookfield, KKR take 49%

Kuwait Oil Company signed a $16.0B pipeline infrastructure partnership with Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR, clearing the finance crawler’s M&A threshold by a wide margin. The primary release says the parties will form a joint venture for KOC’s crude-oil pipeline network under a lease-and-leaseback structure lasting 20.5 years.

The ownership split is central to the transaction. KOC will hold 51% of the JV and retain full ownership and operational control of the pipeline network. Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR will collectively hold 49%, with each investor taking an equal one-third share of that minority interest on equal terms.

The market stake is not only the headline valuation. The release says the transaction includes a volume-based tariff, meaning payments to the JV are linked to crude volumes transported through the network. Reuters-derived reports carried through market feeds put the expected upfront proceeds at $7.85B at closing, while the broader transaction value is stated at $16.0B.

For Kuwait, the deal is a large-scale monetization of energy infrastructure without transferring operating control. KOC keeps production and refining decisions under the State of Kuwait, and the JV will not restrict refining throughput or production volumes. That distinction matters for sovereign asset deals, because the financing proceeds can be separated from national control of oil flows.

For Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR, the asset profile is long-duration infrastructure exposure tied to Gulf crude logistics. The timing also matters: oil, shipping insurance and Middle East risk premiums have stayed volatile in July, so a 20.5-year pipeline tariff structure gives private-capital investors a different risk profile from direct commodity-price exposure.

The next checks are closing conditions, final proceeds at completion, and whether other Gulf producers use similar lease-and-leaseback structures after Kuwait’s $16.0B transaction.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.