BlackRock buys stake in Saudi-Bahraini pipeline

MANAMA, September 12, 2024 – Bahrain’s state oil firm Bapco Energy has sold a minority stake in the Saudi Bahrain Pipeline Company (SBPC) to a fund managed by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure team, the companies announced on Wednesday.

SBPC owns a portion of the 112-kilometre pipeline supplying crude oil from Saudi Aramco to Bapco Refining, Bapco Energy’s 267,000-bpd refinery in Bahrain. Under the transaction terms, the BlackRock infrastructure fund has taken a minority stake in SBPC, while Bapco Energies retains majority ownership and governance over the company.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This investment in SBPC not only gives our investors exposure to a critical, contracted infrastructure asset, it also supports the modernisation of a strategic asset for Bahrain as it seeks to achieve its decarbonisation goals. It is also a testament to our position as a leading infrastructure investor in the Middle East,” said Edward Winter, managing director and head of EMEA for Diversified Infrastructure, BlackRock.

In March 2024, French supermajor TotalEnergies had agreed to collaborate with Bapco Energies on optimising operations at its Sitra refinery as part of a broader project to expand its processing capacity from around 280,000 bpd to around 380,000 bpd and upgrade the facility to allow it to process heavier crudes.

Bapco Energies and BlackRock also signed an MoU to explore collaboration on future Bahraini infrastructure and decarbonisation projects. The agreement covers technical expertise, financial support and strategic guidance for renewable energy projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of Bahraini infrastructure.

Photo courtesy of Aramco

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