Kuwait just opened its doors to foreign capital in a way it never has before. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary Kuwait Oil Company signed a $16 billion lease-and-leaseback agreement with a consortium led by Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR, covering the country’s entire domestic and export crude oil pipeline network.

The transaction, internally called Project Peregrine, represents the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait’s history.

How the deal works

The agreement covers 13 pipelines spanning approximately 320 kilometers across Kuwait. Under the structure, the three investors will collectively hold a 49% stake in the joint venture, split equally among them. Kuwait Oil Company retains 51% ownership and full operational control.

The lease runs for 20.5 years and features a volume-based tariff. The investors essentially get paid based on how much oil flows through those pipes, not on oil prices directly.

The deal is expected to generate $7.85 billion in upfront proceeds, which KPC plans to funnel into capital expenditures.

Financial advisory for the transaction was handled by Centerview Partners, HSBC, and JP Morgan.

Why this matters beyond oil

Kuwait is following a playbook that Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC have already tested: monetize infrastructure assets to attract foreign capital without diluting sovereign control over core operations.

KPC Deputy Chairman Shaikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah emphasized Kuwait’s attractiveness as a destination for global capital. The timing is notable. Ongoing regional tensions, including attacks on Kuwaiti infrastructure, make this deal a deliberate signal that Kuwait is open for business and that international investors are willing to commit long-term capital despite geopolitical risk.