Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced a US$16 billion lease-and-lease-back deal involving its Kuwait Oil Company and a consortium led by Blackstone, Brookfield, and KKR to lease usage rights to 13 pipelines. A new Kuwaiti-incorporated JV will lease the pipeline rights from KOC and return exclusive use, operation, and maintenance back to KOC for 20.5 years under a volume-based tariff, with KOC holding 51% and the investors 49% on equal terms. The arrangement is expected to generate about US$7.85 billion in upfront proceeds for KOC, supporting Kuwait’s capital expenditure plans and the government’s target of 4 million barrels per day by 2035. The deal preserves Kuwait’s full control over production and refining volumes and is described as the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait’s history, occurring amid regional geopolitical tensions including Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure. The partnership signals Kuwait’s ongoing diversification and its appeal to global investors, reinforcing the state’s strategy to fund growth while maintaining sovereign decision-making over output and investment choices.