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A consortium led by BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners is negotiating with lenders to secure up to US$10.3 billion in debt for its infrastructure agreement with Saudi Aramco over the Jafurah gas processing project. Key banks engaged include JPMorgan and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with the loan set to be structured in both short‐term and long‐term tranches.

Under this arrangement, a newly formed subsidiary named Jafurah Midstream Gas Company will take over development and usage rights for the Jafurah Field Gas Plant and the Riyas NGL Fractionation Facility. Aramco will lease these back from JMGC for a twenty‐year period. The ownership split ensures Aramco retains 51 per cent control, while the investor group, led by GIP, holds the remaining 49 per cent.

This financing comes after a broader $11 billion lease and leaseback deal struck in August under similar terms, which formalised foreign investor participation and secured upfront proceeds for Aramco while retaining its operational control over major gas processing assets.

The Jafurah project is central to Aramco's strategy to expand its natural gas production by about 60 percent between 2021 and 2030, hoping to meet escalating domestic demand and enhance its downstream feedstock for materials such as chemicals and other industrial use. The gas reserves in the field are estimated at 229 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas and 75 billion stock tank barrels of condensate.

Legal and advisory teams are also active: Clifford Chance is advising the lender consortium on this deal, reflecting the complexity of structuring cross‐border infrastructure financing of this scale in the energy sector.

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