KKR, Blackstone Sign $16 Billion Kuwait Oil Deal After Trump Tariff Reversal

By Katherine Hamilton

The companies that manage Kuwait's oil sector signed a $16 billion lease agreement with a group of investors led by Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR.

The deal comes after President Trump said earlier this month that he reversed his Strait of Hormuz tariff plan following talks with Middle Eastern countries to invest more in the U.S.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp., the state-owned firm overseeing the sector, and its subsidiary Kuwait Oil Co., which explores and produces oil on behalf of the state, both signed the deal.

The deal, which involves all of the country's domestic and export pipelines, represents the biggest foreign direct investment in Kuwait's history, Kuwait Petroleum said.

In mid-July, Trump said he negotiated with several Middle Eastern countries to invest in the U.S. in exchange for him cancelling the 20% fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

He named Kuwait as one of the countries that had engaged in the conversations, which were "highly productive," he said in a Truth Social post.

"Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Qatar and Kuwait and others...I spoke to all of them and they would love to invest more money in the United States," Trump told reporters at the time.

Kuwait Oil Co. and the consortium of investors will establish the new joint venture, with KOC holding a 51% majority stake and the consortium collectively holding the remaining 49%, with equal stakes and on equal terms.

The joint venture will lease from KOC the usage rights to all of its 13 pipelines, which span roughly 200 miles. The venture will give KOC exclusive use and operational rights for a 20.5-year period, in exchange for a volume-based tariff.

The venture is expected to generate proceeds of $7.85 billion for KOC upon closing. This money will help support KPC's capital-expenditure plans, including its target of 4 million barrels per day of crude-oil production capacity by 2035, it said.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2026 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)