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Aramco, GIP-led group sign US$11 billion natural gas deal
Lease, leaseback deal involves Jafurah processing facilities, consortium of Asia, Middle East investors
Michael Marray   20 Aug 2025

The world’s largest oil company Saudi Aramco has signed an US$11 billion lease and leaseback deal involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium of investors led by funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners ( GIP ), a unit of BlackRock, one of the world’s biggest asset managers.

A newly formed subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Company ( JMGC ), will lease development and usage rights for the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas Natural Gas Liquids fractionation facility for 20 years. During that period, they will be leased back to Aramco, creating a revenue stream.

Aramco will hold a 51% majority stake in JMGC, with the remaining 49% held by the new investors. Aramco will receive upfront proceeds of US$11 billion from the new investors. JMGC will receive a tariff payable by Aramco in exchange for granting Aramco the exclusive right to receive, process and treat raw gas from Jafurah.

Jafurah is the largest non-associated gas development in Saudi Arabia, and is a key component in Aramco’s plans to increase gas production capacity by 60% between 2021 and 2030. Total investment in Jafurah is expected to be more than US$100 billion.

“Jafurah is a cornerstone of our ambitious gas expansion programme,” notes Amin Nasser, Aramco’s president and CEO, “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.”

Unconventional gas operations, such as shale, require specialized technologies for extraction. As Jafurah prepares to start phase one production this year, development of subsequent phases is on track. Jafurah will play a major role as a feedstock provider to the petrochemicals sector and in supplying the energy required to power new growth sectors, such as artificial intelligence data centres, in Saudi Arabia.

The opportunity to invest in the natural gas development, Aramco notes, attracted significant interest from investors worldwide. Co-investors in the transaction include leading institutional investors from Asia and the Middle East. 

GIP’s mid-market infrastructure equity team, which invests in diversified and contracted mid-market infrastructure assets and businesses around the world, has a long track record of investments in the Middle East.

The investment also builds upon the strong existing relationship between Aramco and BlackRock. In 2022, BlackRock co-led a consortium of investors in a minority investment in Aramco Gas Pipelines Company. The BlackRock-led consortium holds a 49% stake and Aramco, 51%. The company is leasing the gas pipelines network for 20 years, after which ownership reverts to Aramco.

Another deal involving Aramco oil pipelines was previously signed with a consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners.