Saudi Aramco to gather about $17 billion from selling a minority stake in its gas pipelines. Potential bidders like North American private equity and infrastructure funds, as well as state-backed funds in China and South Korea, have been to Aramco by its advisors before a formal sale process starts in the next few weeks.

“The gas deal is for the long-term view of gas utilisation and consumption in Saudi Arabia,” said a source familiar with the deal. The source also said many industries would move to gas under the economic Vision 2030, which will result in a rise in demand for domestic gas. Aramco is operating with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on the deal to grab potential buyers.

The companies that may include are Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s gas pipelines, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Brookfield, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and European gas infrastructure owner and operator SNAM.