BlackRock to arrange up to $10.3bn for Aramco’s Jafurah gas development

Financing Arrangement - A consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock, is negotiating with banks to secure up to $10.3 billion in financing for Aramco's Jafurah gas development deal [1] - JPMorgan and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking are among the financial institutions involved in discussions to support the transaction [1] - The funding arrangement is expected to be divided into short-term and long-term loans [1] Subsidiary and Leaseback Agreement - A new subsidiary, Jafurah Midstream Gas Company (JMGC), will be responsible for leasing the development and usage rights of gas processing facilities within the Jafurah gas field [2] - These rights will be leased back to Aramco for a duration of 20 years [2] - This deal follows a previous $11 billion leaseback agreement involving Aramco's Jafurah gas processing facilities [2] Jafurah Gas Field Details - The Jafurah field is the largest non-associated gas development in Saudi Arabia, expected to hold 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion stock tank barrels of condensate [3] - Aramco aims to increase its gas production capacity by 60% from 2021 to 2030 to meet the growing demand for gas [3] - JMGC will receive tariffs from Aramco in exchange for exclusive rights to process and treat raw gas from the field [3] Ownership Structure - Aramco will maintain a 51% ownership in JMGC, with the remaining 49% held by the investor group [4] - The parties involved, including Aramco, BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, have declined to comment on the financing details [4]