Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has executed an $11 billion lease and leaseback transaction involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium of international investors. The consortium was led by funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which operates as part of BlackRock.
The transaction centres on the Jafurah field, recognised as the largest non-associated gas development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The field contains an estimated 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion stock tank barrels of condensate, making it a critical component of Aramco’s strategy to increase gas production capacity by 60 percent between 2021 and 2030 to address rising demand.
Under the agreement’s structure, a newly-formed subsidiary called Jafurah Midstream Gas Company (JMGC) acquired development and usage rights for the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility through a lease arrangement. JMGC then executed a 20-year leaseback agreement with Aramco, granting the oil giant exclusive rights to receive, process, and treat raw gas from Jafurah in exchange for tariff payments.
The ownership structure of JMGC reflects a strategic partnership, with Aramco maintaining a 51% majority stake while the GIP-led investor group holds the remaining 49%. The transaction was designed to avoid any restrictions on Aramco’s production volumes and was expected to close as soon as practicable, subject to standard closing conditions.
Amin H. Nasser, Aramco’s president and CEO, characterised Jafurah as a cornerstone of the company’s ambitious gas expansion programme. He highlighted that the GIP-led consortium’s participation demonstrated the project’s attractive value proposition and represented significant foreign direct investment into the Kingdom. “This foreign direct investment into the Kingdom also highlights the appeal of Aramco’s long-term strategy to the international investment community,” Nasser stated.
As Jafurah prepared to commence phase one production, Nasser emphasised the field’s anticipated role as a major feedstock provider to the petrochemicals sector and as an energy supplier for new growth sectors, including AI data centres in the Kingdom.
Bayo Ogunlesi, chairman and CEO of GIP, expressed satisfaction with deepening the partnership with Aramco through the investment in Saudi Arabia’s natural gas infrastructure. He described natural gas as a key pillar of global energy markets and noted that the announcement built upon BlackRock and GIP’s established relationship with Aramco to address growing market demands for cleaner fuels, energy security, and energy affordability.
The investment opportunity attracted significant interest from investors worldwide, with co-investors including leading institutional investors from Asia and the Middle East. The completed transaction was expected to support the optimisation of Aramco’s assets while capturing additional value from the Jafurah gas field development.
The deal represented an extension of the established relationship between Aramco and BlackRock. GIP’s mid-market infrastructure equity team, which specialises in diversified and contracted mid-market infrastructure assets globally, brought a robust track record of successful Middle East investments to the partnership. This investment built upon the strong existing relationship established in 2022, when BlackRock co-led a consortium in a separate minority investment in Aramco Gas Pipelines Company.
