A $600m pipeline infrastructure investment agreement has formally closed between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
The closing takes the combined investment in select ADNOC oil pipeline infrastructure by BlackRock, KKR, ADRPBF and GIC to $4.9bn.
According to a statement from ADNOC, the closing of the total investment transaction follows the formal signing of the initial investment agreement with BlackRock and KKR in June, and the closing of the Abu Dhabi Retirement Pensions and Benefits Fund (ADRPBF) investment on August 1.
Billed as an innovative leasing investment structure, the deal is said to mark the first time that global and domestic institutional investors have deployed long-term capital into key ADNOC infrastructure assets.
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, group director for finance and investment at ADNOC stated that the successful final closing of the transaction was a vote of confidence by the global investment community in both the UAE and ADNOC as attractive investment destinations.
“The caliber of these leading global and domestic investors underlines the quality and attractiveness of ADNOC’s infrastructure assets and our ability to efficiently structure and close value-creating investment opportunities for our partners and investors,” said Al Zaabi.
In terms of shares in the newly formed ADNOC Oil Pipelines entity, BlackRock and KKR hold 40%, ADRPBF holds 3%, GIC’s share stands at 6%, while ADNOC holds the remaining 51%. Sovereignty over the pipelines and management of pipeline operations remain with ADNOC, the statement said.
Over the last two years, ADNOC has significantly expanded its strategic partnership and co-investment model and created new investment opportunities across all areas of its value chain, while at the same time, more proactively managing its portfolio of assets and capital, Al Zaabi added.
