Kuwait Oil Company signs $16bn pipeline lease deal with Blackstone, Brookfield, KKR

By Shree Mishra Offshore Technology | Mon, July 27, 2026 at 2:51 AM PDT | 2 min read

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's (KPC) fully owned subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has entered into a lease-and-lease-back agreement worth $16 billion (Kd4.96 billion) with a consortium of international investors led by Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR.

The agreement covers KOC's entire domestic and export pipeline network.

Key Details

• Largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait's history.
• Dubbed Project Peregrine, it is described as the country's largest infrastructure partnership.
• A new Kuwaiti-incorporated joint venture (JV) will lease usage rights for all 13 of KOC's pipelines, spanning approximately 320 km.
• These rights will be leased back to KOC for a 20.5-year period, with KOC retaining exclusive use, operational control, and maintenance control on a volume-based tariff basis.

Ownership Structure

• The consortium will acquire a collective 49% stake in the JV, divided equally among Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR.
• KOC will hold the remaining 51%, retaining full ownership and operational control over the pipeline network.
• The structure imposes no limits on Kuwait's refining throughput or production volumes, which remain determined by the State of Kuwait.

Financial Impact

• The JV is expected to generate $7.85 billion in upfront proceeds for KOC upon closing.
• These proceeds are expected to support KPC's capital expenditure plans, including the goal of reaching four million barrels of crude oil production capacity per day by 2035.

Statements

Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone, said:

"Kuwait's leadership, vision and resources have made it a compelling destination for international capital, built on its strength in the energy sector and remarkable efforts to diversify its economy. We are proud to support this critical infrastructure, helping meet rising global energy demand while deepening Blackstone's nearly four-decade partnership with Kuwait."

Shaikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairman and CEO of KPC, said:

"Project Peregrine represents the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait's history and a defining milestone for our country's economic development. It delivers on the commitment announced by His Highness the Prime Minister Shaikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at the Kuwait Oil & Gas Show (KOGS) in February 2026 to attract world-class international investors into Kuwait's strategic infrastructure while preserving full national ownership and operational control."

Broader Context

• The agreement supports efforts to diversify Kuwait's sources of capital and encourage deeper engagement with global investors.
• It was announced amid ongoing regional geopolitical tensions and represents one of the Arabian Gulf's first major inward investments in recent years.

Regulatory and Advisory

• The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions, with Kuwaiti law governing the transaction.
• Centerview Partners, HSBC, and JP Morgan served as financial advisers to KPC.

This article was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.