Kuwait has signed a $16 billion oil pipeline deal with a consortium of Blackstone, KKR, and Brookfield, marking one of the largest infrastructure transactions in the Gulf this year. The agreement arrives while the Strait of Hormuz remains virtually shut and regional producers scramble to secure alternative export routes. For investors, the deal crystallizes a question that has been building since the US-Iran conflict escalated in February: can Gulf pipeline assets deliver stable, tariff-backed returns even when the chokepoint they bypass is under active threat?
The transaction is structured as a lease-and-leaseback arrangement through an ad hoc subsidiary in which Kuwait Petroleum Corporation retains a 51% majority stake. The investor consortium holds the remaining 49% and receives tariffs indexed to transported volumes, supported by minimum guaranteed payment clauses. A financing package of around $6 billion is taking shape, with a 20-year maturity and indicative pricing of 170 basis points above SOFR. HSBC is lead underwriter, while JPMorgan—also KPC’s exclusive financial advisor on the sale—and National Bank of Kuwait and Kuwait Finance House are participating.