Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and Kuwait Oil Company will raise $7.85 billion upfront through a pipeline lease-and-leaseback that keeps state control while bringing in Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR as long-term investors.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and Kuwait Oil Company signed a $16 billion lease-and-leaseback agreement with a consortium led by Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR covering Kuwait’s domestic and export crude oil pipeline network, marking what the companies internally call Project Peregrine and describing it as the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait’s history. The transaction covers 13 pipelines spanning about 320 kilometers. Under the structure, the three investors will collectively own 49% of the joint venture in equal shares, while Kuwait Oil Company retains 51% and full operational control. The 20.5-year lease uses a volume-based tariff, meaning investor returns are tied to how much oil moves through the system rather than directly to crude prices. KPC expects $7.85 billion in upfront proceeds and plans to direct the funds to capital expenditures. The deal follows a model used by Saudi Aramco and ADNOC to monetize infrastructure while preserving sovereign control over core assets, and comes as Kuwait seeks to signal openness to global capital despite regional tensions and attacks on Kuwaiti infrastructure.