Saudi Aramco taps banks for $12-14 bln gas pipeline loan - sources

NH Investment & Securities Co

11/10/2021 10:06

By Hadeel Al Sayegh, Davide Barbuscia and Saeed Azhar
    DUBAI, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco  2222.SE  has asked
banks to arrange a loan expected to be in the $12 billion-14
billion range that it plans to offer to buyers of its gas
pipeline network, sources said, as the oil giant advances plans
to raise funds from asset sales.
    Aramco could raise at least $17 billion from the sale of a
significant minority stake in its gas pipelines, sources have
previously told Reuters. The stake would be offered with a loan
financing package already in place, worth about 80% of the
price.
    Banks that financed a $12.4 billion acquisition of the
company's oil pipelines earlier this year received a request for
proposals from Aramco last week, said three sources familiar
with the matter.
    That deal, which included all of Aramco's existing and
future stabilised crude pipelines, was backed by $10.5 billion
financing from a large group of banks including Citi, HSBC and
JPMorgan.
    Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment
on the new financing for gas pipelines. It is working with
JPMorgan  JPM.N  and Goldman Sachs  GS.N  on the gas pipeline
deal, sources have said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PN19U
    Reuters reported in August that companies that have been in
talks for Aramco's gas pipeline assets include Global
Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Brookfield, Singapore sovereign
wealth fund GIC, European gas infrastructure owner and operator
SNAM, as well as China's Silk Road, Chinese state-backed
investment fund CNIC Corp, South Korea's sovereign wealth fund
Korean Investment Corp (KIC) and NH Investment & Securities.
    Potential buyers are expected to submit bids at the end of
October, said one of the sources. 
    Earlier this year Aramco, similar to Abu Dhabi National Oil
Co (ADNOC), used a lease-back agreement to sell a 49% stake of
newly formed Aramco Oil Pipelines Co to the buyer and rights to
25 years of tariff payments for oil carried on its pipelines.
    It plans to use a similar structure for its gas pipelines.

 (Editing by Peter Graff)
 ((Davide.Barbuscia@thomsonreuters.com; +971522604297; Reuters
Messaging: davide.barbuscia.reuters.com@reuters.net))