Page 7 - MEOG Week 41
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MEOG Commentary MEOG
Markets for exports of the refineries’ products, which account for around 70% of output, with the rest deployed domestically.
Pipeline push
Meanwhile, US private equity giants have also recently moved to invest in Abu Dhabi’s oil sec- tor. In February, Blackstone and KKR acquired a 40% stake for $4bn in ADNOC Oil Pipelines. The newly-formed venture has been assigned long-term leases for 18 of ADNOC’s domestic crude oil and condensate pipelines.
In common with and before Aramco, the Emirati oil company has also been opening up to new sources of finance over the past two years. It issued an international bond through the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline Co. (ADCOP) subsid- iary, staged an IPO in retail unit ADNOC Distri- bution, and sold minority stakes in its ADNOC Refining and ADNOC Drilling arms.
In July, Blackstone and KKR were joined in the pipeline JV by and the Abu Dhabi Retire- ment Pensions and Benefits Fund (ADRPBF) and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, with the latter acquiring a 6% stake for $600mn.
ADNOC’s attention has now turned to gas, with Bloomberg reporting this week that the company is looking for potential buyers for a share in its gas pipeline network. Reports sug- gested that the sale could bring in up to $5bn for ADNOC and information on the assets has been circulated to potential bidders.
Bloomberg said that the proposed deal could value the network at more than $15bn including debt, though the stakes acquired would take the form of a lease arrangement rather than a direct equity holding.
Keen to build on the already significant momentum, ADNOC anticipates reaching a deal by mid-2020.
Week 41 15•October•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7