Story perspectives

Kuwait signs $16 B deal, consortium gets 49% pipeline stake

7/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

Kuwait Petroleum Corp signed a $16 billion deal with the Blackstone-Brookfield-KKR consortium on July 25, 2026, giving the consortium a 49 % stake and rights to 13 pipelines totalling 320 kilometres.
Kuwait Oil Company kept 51 % ownership, operational control for 20.5 years, and will receive $7.85 billion upfront to help reach 4 million barrels per day.
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah called it Kuwait’s largest foreign direct investment while Stephen Schwarzman said it shows confidence in Kuwait’s energy sector.

History

Historical Context

After Iraq’s 1990 invasion set fire to roughly 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, the coalition capped the last blaze on 6 November 1991 and Kuwait restored pre-war export capacity by early 1993. The costly reconstruction, including $1.5 billion for fire suppression, showed Kuwait’s reliance on U.S. firms such as Halliburton. That precedent underlies today’s large-scale foreign-capital partnerships, exemplified by Blackstone and other investors.

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Story summary

Kuwait Petroleum Corp signed a $16 billion deal with the Blackstone-Brookfield-KKR consortium on July 25, 2026, giving the consortium a 49 % stake and rights to 13 pipelines totalling 320 kilometres.
Kuwait Oil Company kept 51 % ownership, operational control for 20.5 years, and will receive $7.85 billion upfront to help reach 4 million barrels per day.
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah called it Kuwait’s largest foreign direct investment while Stephen Schwarzman said it shows confidence in Kuwait’s energy sector.

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