Kuwait is courting buyers for its long-planned USD 7 bn oil pipeline stake

1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

TODAY: Kuwait reportedly moving forward with oil pipeline sale

Good morning, lovely people. We have a brisk read for you this morning — and the cross-cutting theme is energy logistics.

Up first: Kuwait’s quiet moves to court investors for the planned sale of its pipeline network. The sale could generate USD 7 bn for the country, with some expecting the transaction to be official within weeks.

Meanwhile, the UAE and Saudi are also advancing their own energy logistics, with storage and terminal projects targeting LPG products and renewables.

The big logistics story abroad

The US’ new 10% tariff plan took effect yesterday. The 10% rate, which came after the US Supreme Court struck down its earlier emergency‑based tariffs, is enforced despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will raise the rate of his back-up tariffs plan from 10% to 15%, leaving companies and trade partners navigating policy uncertainty.

Tariffs have impacted regional aviation players, with Etihad Airways CEO Antonoaldo Neves pointing out that the disruptions caused to the airline by global tariffs were “bigger than any geopolitical tension” over the past year. The unpredictable shifts in tariff rates hit the airline in the form of short-notice changes to travel patterns. “We saw an impact in demand in the short term, but it [usually] came back very quickly,” Neves said.

Watch this space

WAREHOUSES — Asmo taps Arcapita to develop a new logistics facility: Asmo, an Aramco-DHL joint venture, has roped in Bahrain-based investor Arcapita to bankroll a 1.4 mn sqm purpose-built logistics facility at King Salman Energy Park (Spark). Under the arrangement, Acrapita will fund and own the asset, while Asmo will lead development and operation under a 22-year lease.

What we know: The facility includes a 43k sqm temperature-controlled Grade-A warehouse, 5.3k sqm of chemical storage, and more than 3k sqm of offices. Construction timeline or investment details weren’t disclosed.

The location is the real asset: The site sits between Dammam Seaport, Aramco’s Abqaiq facilities, and Al Hasa, positioning the facility to serve Aramco, its affiliates, and nearby industrial players. The move comes as Saudi warehouse demand continues to outpace supply — especially in the Eastern Province, where new capacity remains limited.

Background: ASMO plans to operate six logistics facilities by 2030, with annual procurement volumes expected to exceed USD 8 bn.

PORTS-– UAE’s Khalifa Port is doubling down on energy infrastructure with a new privately-led Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage terminal. AD Ports Group and Nimex terminals broke ground yesterday on the new LPG terminal, which will feature a fully automated storage and distribution system, as well as two propane and butane containment refrigerated storage tanks. The first phase is scheduled to be commissioned within three years.

This is the second major energy storage groundbreaking at Khalifa Port this week, after Oylz Terminals began construction on its 660k petroleum products storage hub at the same site. By clustering LPG and petroleum storage, the port is ramping up its integrated ecosystem that serves energy traders and industrial off-takers.

Market watch

Oil prices are still at almost a seven-month peak as market concerns over a US-Iran military conflict remain high, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures gained USD 0.43 to trade at USD 71.20 / bbl as of 04:00 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased USD 0.38 to USD 66.01 / bbl.

***YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 9:15am in Cairo and Riyadh and 11:15am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Logistics is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities, Transmar, and AK-Ships.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of Enterprise Logistics.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on logistics@enterprisemea.com.

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE ***

Kuwait could be giving a piece of its pipes soon

Kuwait is quietly courting investors for a stake in its crude oil pipeline network, marking another signal that the country is serious about the revived plans to sell a USD 7 bn stake in the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s (KPC) pipeline network. The transaction is said to be structured as some USD 1.5 bn in equity, with the rest loaded as debt, three sources told Reuters.

Meet the possible suitors: The talks included BlackRock and KKR, both familiar faces in regional pipeline investments, as well as Chinese state players like China Silk Road Fund and China Merchants Capital. Other players involved in the early-stage discussions include EIG Partners, I Squared Capital, and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners.

The playbook: The sale will follow a regional playbook of “lease and leaseback” arrangements, in which state-owned oil producers technically lease ownership of the pipeline assets to a new entity for a specific period of time. This new time-bound entity is what’s up for sale, rather than the assets themselves — an arrangement that allows oil producers to raise funds while maintaining sovereignty in operations and long-term ownership of their strategic assets.

Why now?

Kuwait is trying to catch the diversification train, and leveraging strategic assets like pipelines can help it raise the required funds for its USD 65 bn diversification investment plan. “The pipelines are assets owned by KPC and do not generate direct financial returns,” KPC deputy chairman and CEO Sheikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah previously said, adding that leasing and re-leasing could secure much-needed financing for the country.

Oil rates are also adding pressure: With oil prices sitting well below what the Gulf needs to bankroll diversification at full speed, selling stakes in hard infrastructure once treated as untouchable — pipelines, gas networks, power plants, ports — is becoming more popular as a means to tap foreign capital while keeping operational control.

For investors, regional pipeline stakes offer steady returns via transportation tariffs, with some similar transactions in the region previously delivering some 12-14% yields from the stable USD-linked returns, sources and analysts told Reuters.

Background

UAE has been central to this playbook, with Adnoc first leasing its crude lines back in 2019 to a BlackRock-KKR consortium for USD 4 bn for 40% stake. Saudi followed suit, with Aramco selling 49% of its pipelines to EIG in a USD 12.4 bn transaction back in 2021. Bahrain also joined in 2024 with its first-ever infrastructure monetization, selling a minority stake in the Saudi-Bahrian pipeline via Bapco Energies to Blackrock.

Others followed-ish: Oman took the public listing path for its pipelines, floating 49% of OQ Gas Networks via an IPO in 2023 and raising some USD 750 mn.

What’s next?

Stay tuned: KPC is approaching additional banks to join HSBC in underwriting the debt portion of the sale, and the formal process to launch the pipeline stake sale could begin as soon as the end of this month, Reuters reported.

More is coming: The Gulf could see several more USD bns in infrastructure agreements over the year, global co-head of M&A advisory at Standard Chartered Rajesh Singhi told Reuters.

Egytrans Nosco + Nafih International offer up digital solutions to tackle trucking bottlenecks in Sokhna Port

Egytrans Nosco and Nafith International landed a 25-year concession to digitize truck management at Ain Sokhna Port, according to a statement (pdf). The project, backed by over EGP 1 bn in investment, will see the partners develop a 167k sqm site within the Suez Canal Economic Zone to regulate truck traffic using real-time planning and digital yard management platforms.

Why it matters

The port is over-performing against its targets and needs a capacity boost. Sokhna Port is seeing a massive surge in volume, with 1Q 2025 throughput hitting 285k TEUs, around 26% above target. While the port’s infrastructure is being outpaced by volume, the overheads of trucking — incurred by idling fleets and unpredictable turnaround times — directly eat into margins. The project aims to reduce operating costs by up to 30% and cut waiting times by over 40%.

The partnership aims to boost operational capacity by up to 60% within the first two years of operation, easing congestion at the port. By implementing a smart flow system, the partners expect to handle 800-1.1k trucks daily. For the private sector, this could translate to lower transport costs, faster cargo release cycles, and better fleet utilization.

Data point: Trucking is the undisputed heavyweight of inland logistics in Egypt, with road transport handling over 90% of internal freight movement, according to the Transport Ministry.

Background

The project is part of a wider digital push: Egytrans and Nafith International partnered to set up a 114k sqm smart truck yard in West Port Said Port last year, backed by an EGP 250 mn investment. The project was developed and operated by Nafith Masr, a JV that is 70% owned by Nafith International and 30% owned by Egytrans.

ICYMI: We sat down with Egytrans CEO Abir Leheta in December, who outlined the firm’s “serious commitment” to tech in the sector. “We firmly believe that digitization can improve not just our company’s performance, but the performance of the economy as a whole by improving the movement of transport within the country,” Leheta explained.

Earnings and rail updates fro UAE and Iraq

Etihad Airways’ bottomline hiked up 47% y-o-y amid fleet and network push

Etihad Airways’ bottomline soared up 47% y-o-y to AED 2.6 bn in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth, while its topline surged up 21% y-o-y to AED 30.7 bn. Abu Dhabi’s flagship airline attributes this increase to its fleet and network expansion, uptaking delivery of 29 jets –– bringing its total fleet to 127 aircraft –– and integrating 16 new destinations.

The breakdown: Cargo revenues jumped up 8% y-o-y to AED 4.5 bn, propelled by increased capacity and volumes, as the airline’s total cargo handled was up 9% y-o-y to 700k tonnes. The largest growth catalyst for the carrier’s topline was its passenger segment, generating a 24% y-o-y increase in revenue to AED 25.8 bn, with total passenger volume up 21% y-o-y to 22.4 mn.

What’s next? The airline plans to further expand its network into China, Southeast Asia and Europe, CEO Antonoaldo Neves told Reuters. It also expects to receive some 20 additional aircraft deliveries in 2026, Neves added.

Another phosphate plant is coming Egypt’s way

Fertilizer producer Movingfert is setting up a USD 40 mn phosphate plant in Qena’s Qift Freezone. The 190k sqm project is expected to kick off production this year with a 500k-ton-a-year first phase. Some 80% of output will be exported to European and East Asian markets.

We have a slew of big-ticket phosphate projects coming to Egypt — most recently, China’s Kunming Chuan Jin Nuo Chemical Co.inked an agreement to develop a USD 1 bn phosphate chemical industrial park in Elsewedy’s Sokhna 360 industrial city. This came shortly after a Chinese consortium partnered with multiple local players to build a USD 658 mn phosphoric acid production complex in the New Valley governorate. Furthermore, China’s Asia Potash announced plans for a phosphate fertilizer industrial park in Upper Egypt, carrying a final investment ticket of USD 7-10 bn.

Mosul rail station moves toward reopening after years of war damage

Mosul’s rebuilt rail station is more than 90% complete, with Iraq’s Transport Ministry targeting 1Q 2026 for opening. The project includes a large basement for services, cargo handling, freight lifts, and storage space — which keeps Mosul in the freight story as Iraq pushes to rebuild rail freight capacity north to south. That lines up with the World Bank-backed IREM program approved in June 2025, which targets upgrades on the Umm Qasr-Baghdad-Mosul corridor.

Calendar

2026

FEBRUARY

25-27 February (Wednesday-Friday): Air Cargo Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.

25-27 February (Wednesday-Friday): Air Law Treaty Workshop, Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

MARCH

5-6 March (Thursday-Friday): CargoIS Forum, Miami, United States.

9-13 March (Monday-Friday): World Cargo Alliance Worldwide Conference, Singapore.

10-12 March (Tuesday-Thursday): World Cargo Symposium, Lima, Peru.

18-19 March (Wednesday-Thursday): IntraLogisteX, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

18-19 March (Wednesday-Thursday): Green Marine Transport Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

26 March (Thursday): Gulf Ship Finance Forum, Dubai, UAE.

APRIL

12-15 April (Sunday-Wednesday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

16-17 April (Thursday-Friday): Global Supply Chain and Logistics Summit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

28-30 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Mediterranean Ports and Logistics, Porto, Portugal.

MAY

12-14 May (Tuesday-Thursday): The Airport Show, Dubai, UAE.

12-14 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Aviation Energy Forum (AEF), Paris, France.

19-21 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Ground Handling Conference (IGHC), Cairo, Egypt.

19-21 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Terminal Operations Conference & Exhibition, Hamburg, Germany.

JUNE

2-4 June (Tuesday-Thursday): ProPak Mena, Cairo, Egypt.

6-8 June (Saturday-Monday): IATA World Air Transport Summit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

22-23 June (Monday-Tuesday): Decarbonizing Shipping Forum, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support

Get EnterpriseAM daily