On July 25, Blackstone Inc., KKR & Co. Inc., and Canada’s Brookfield formed a $16 billion infrastructure joint venture to acquire a 49% minority stake in Kuwait’s domestic and export crude oil pipeline network. This 20.5-year lease-back agreement represents the largest foreign direct investment in Kuwait’s history and covers 13 core pipelines spanning approximately 320 kilometers. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation will retain a 51% controlling stake and exclusive operating rights, while the investor consortium will receive volume-based toll payments to ensure a stable cash flow. The agreement generated an immediate upfront gain of $7.85 billion for Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and directly supports Kuwait’s goal of increasing oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day by 2035.