Latest news with #gasproject
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
BlackRock-led group set to invest in $10bln Aramco Jafurah infrastructure deal
DUBAI/LONDON: Saudi Aramco is close to a deal to raise around $10 billion from a group led by BlackRock that has been set up to invest in the infrastructure of Aramco's Jafurah gas project, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The agreement would be the latest in a series of financial arrangements, akin to borrowing, that allow Gulf oil producing countries to raise money to diversify their economies while promising investors a stable revenue stream. The two people said the latest transaction was expected to be similarly structured to two Aramco infrastructure deals in 2021, including one in which BlackRock invested in Aramco's gas pipeline networks, allowing the Saudi company to generate funds. Aramco kept control of the underlying infrastructure while the investors earned tariffs from the oil firm for the use of the pipelines. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. They did not say when the deal might be finalised. Aramco and BlackRock declined to comment. The $100 billion Jafurah project, potentially the biggest shale gas project outside the United States, is central to Aramco's ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and to boost its gas production capacity by 60% by 2030 from 2021 levels. The Jafurah assets underpinning the deal include gas pipelines and a gas processing plant, one of the sources said. Aramco has long been the biggest source of the kingdom's revenues. Saudia Arabia has been seeking to diversify its economy as oil prices have come under pressure from global economic uncertainty that could further reduce demand. They have also been depressed by increased output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, which is striving to boost market share. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Aramco was seeking to sell up to five gas-fired power plants to raise funds. PREVIOUS DEALS In 2021, BlackRock and EIG were among investor groups that took stakes in companies that leased usage rights in Aramco's gas and oil pipeline networks. The groups leased them back to Aramco for a 20-year period in two separate deals, helping the Saudi company to raise nearly $28 billion. Described as lease and leaseback transactions by Aramco at the time, they were structured as a form of borrowing, Robin Mills, chief executive of consultancy Qamar Energy told Reuters. "The pipeline deals were basically a securitisation" and not a sale of the asset, whose ownership remained with Aramco, Mills said. In those deals the groups took 49% stakes in subsidiaries Aramco Oil Pipelines and Aramco Gas Pipelines, in which Aramco retains 51% stakes. The subsidiaries receive a tariff from Aramco for flows of crude and natural gas, backed by minimum commitments on throughput. The deals followed other transactions in the region, including Abu Dhabi's ADNOC sale of minority stakes in the companies owning the leasing rights to its oil and gas pipelines. (Reporting by Sarah McFarlane in London, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Federico Maccioni in Dubai, additional reporting by Anirban Sen and Yousef Saba, editing by Anousha Sakoui and Barbara Lewis)
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: BlackRock-led group set to invest in $10 billion Aramco Jafurah infrastructure deal
DUBAI/LONDON, July 17(Reuters) - Saudi Aramco ( opens new tab is close to a deal to raise around $10 billion from a group led by BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab that has been set up to invest in the infrastructure of Aramco's Jafurah gas project, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The agreement would be the latest in a series of financial arrangements, akin to borrowing, that allow Gulf oil producing countries to raise money to diversify their economies while promising investors a stable revenue stream. The two people said the latest transaction was expected to be similarly structured to two Aramco infrastructure deals in 2021, including one in which BlackRock invested in Aramco's gas pipeline networks, allowing the Saudi company to generate funds. Aramco kept control of the underlying infrastructure while the investors earned tariffs from the oil firm for the use of the pipelines. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. They did not say when the deal might be finalised. Aramco and BlackRock declined to comment. The $100 billion Jafurah project, potentially the biggest shale gas project outside the United States, is central to Aramco's ambitions to become a major global player in natural gas and to boost its gas production capacity by 60% by 2030 from 2021 levels. The Jafurah assets underpinning the deal include gas pipelines and a gas processing plant, one of the sources said. Aramco has long been the biggest source of the kingdom's revenues. Saudia Arabia has been seeking to diversify its economy as oil prices have come under pressure from global economic uncertainty that could further reduce demand. They have also been depressed by increased output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, which is striving to boost market share. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that Aramco was seeking to sell up to five gas-fired power plants to raise funds. PREVIOUS DEALS In 2021, BlackRock and EIG were among investor groups that took stakes in companies that leased usage rights in Aramco's gas and oil pipeline networks. The groups leased them back to Aramco for a 20-year period in two separate deals, helping the Saudi company to raise nearly $28 billion. Described as lease and leaseback transactions by Aramco at the time, they were structured as a form of borrowing, Robin Mills, chief executive of consultancy Qamar Energy told Reuters. "The pipeline deals were basically a securitisation" and not a sale of the asset, whose ownership remained with Aramco, Mills said. In those deals the groups took 49% stakes in subsidiaries Aramco Oil Pipelines and Aramco Gas Pipelines, in which Aramco retains 51% stakes. The subsidiaries receive a tariff from Aramco for flows of crude and natural gas, backed by minimum commitments on throughput. The deals followed other transactions in the region, including Abu Dhabi's ADNOC sale of minority stakes in the companies owning the leasing rights to its oil and gas pipelines.
SBS Australia
12-07-2025
- General
- SBS Australia
Gas plant critics warn 'world is now watching' after Murujuga gets World Heritage listing
Environmentalists fear the extension of a gas project could jeopardise the future of an ancient Indigenous rock art collection after it was listed as a World Heritage site. The Murujuga rock art landscape in Western Australia was listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a heritage site on Friday after intense lobbying by the federal government. "For more than 50,000 years, the Ngarda-Ngarli people have protected and managed this significant land and seascape — and today, I am proud to announce that Murujuga will receive another level of protection via the World Heritage system," Environment Minister Murray Watt said while visiting the organisation's headquarters in Paris. "Achieving World Heritage status ensures stronger protections under Australian legislation and will allow the world to celebrate this unique cultural landscape," Watt added. Murujuga contains the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings — known as petroglyphs — and some are estimated to be more than 50,000 years old. They depict animals, plants and human figures, and are visible due to the colour and contrast between the removed varnish layer and the underlying brighter weathered rind of the host rocks. The site was previously put forward to UNESCO in 2023 but Australia's application was referred back in May. UNESCO recommended state and federal governments address concerns that nearby acid emissions, including those from Woodside's Burrup gas hub, were degrading the art. The North West Shelf gas project is seen with a petroglyph of a turtle at Murujuga Cultural Landscape in Burrup Peninsula, Western Australia. Source: Supplied / Save Our Songlines / Conservation Council of Western Australia The peninsula in northwest WA near Karratha is home to two gas plants, a fertiliser plant and iron ore and salt export facilities. While environmentalists welcomed the heritage listing, they warned that the Woodside project extension could cause further damage. "The world is now watching," Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said. "The onus is on the Australian government to make sure the values recognised by UNESCO are not jeopardised by ongoing industrial pollution. If the federal government is serious about protecting Murujuga and making sure it is not moved to an "in danger" list, Senator Watt should reject the gas hub's proposed expansion," O'Shanassy added. Mardathoonera woman and Murujuga traditional custodian Raelene Cooper, who was at the UNESCO meeting, said she welcomed the global recognition of Murujuga but cautioned that industry could still harm the rock art site . "This is a momentous day for our old people and our future generations, to have Murujuga's outstanding universal heritage values recognised by the world," she said. "Meanwhile, fertiliser plants are still being built around our sacred sites and polluting gas plants will emit toxic acid on our rock art for another 50 years. "We will continue to fight for protection for this very special place, and the world is now aware of what we are up against." Watt said World Heritage nomination "had the free, prior and informed consent of the five language groups who all come together to care for Murujuga today". Woodside said the listing was "well-deserved global recognition of the petroglyphs and the unique living cultural values of Murujuga" to Australia and the world. "Woodside has been a proud supporter of the World Heritage nomination and assessment process. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Custodians on the continued protection and management of this globally significant area," the company said in a statement sent to SBS News. Greens Leader Larissa Waters joined the chorus of advocate voices in urging Senator Watt to cancel the approval for the North West Shelf project. "UNESCO had warned that Woodside's gas plant threatened the longevity of the rock art prior to the listing, but Minister Watt successfully lobbied other nations when he should have simply rejected Woodside's climate bomb extension in the first place," she said. Woodside has estimated that keeping the North-West Shelf operating until 2070 could lead to emissions of up to 4.3 billion tons tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 -e), the majority of which will come from exported fossil fuel products. That's over nine times Australia's total annual emissions, which currently sit around 440.2 million tonnes CO 2 -e. Senator Waters added that world heritage laws should be bolstered to better protect listed sites. Australia has 21 properties on the World Heritage list, which includes the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Great Barrier Reef. UNESCO added several other sites to its list, including the Xixia Imperial Tombs in China and the Faya Palaeolandscape in the United Arab Emirates.
Bloomberg
04-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Total Edges Closer to Restart Work on $20 Billion Mozambique LNG
Companies hired by TotalEnergies SE to build a $20 billion gas project in northern Mozambique have started preparing to resume work on the venture, four years after it was suspended because of a militant insurgency, according to people familiar with the matter. Firms have taken preliminary steps, including deploying resources to the project site, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. A Total representative declined to comment.
Bloomberg
02-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Mozambican President Sees Ongoing Security Risks at Total Gas Site
Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said his government and private companies will have to collectively ensure the necessary security is in place to enable TotalEnergies SE to restart construction of a $20 billion gas project that has stalled due to a militant insurgency — and even then risks will remain. The project in the northern Cabo Delgado province along with others that are at earlier stages of development are seen as crucial to the future of the southern African nation, which ranks among the world's poorest. The French oil major halted work, evacuated workers and declared force majeure in 2021 following an escalation in attacks by Islamic State-linked militants.
