SHARE Saudi Aramco, the world's top crude exporter, signed a $12.4 billion deal on Friday with a group of investors led by EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG) that gives the consortium a 49 per cent stake in a newly formed oil pipeline venture. The agreement, which aims to monetise the assets of the state-oil giant, is its largest since the company’s 2019 listing on the Tadawul exchange that raised over $29bn. A newly formed Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company, will lease usage rights in Aramco’s stabilised crude oil pipelines network, which connect oilfields to the downstream network, for a 25-year period, the company said in a statement. Aramco Oil Pipelines Company will receive a tariff payable by Aramco for the oil that flows through the network, backed by minimum volume commitments.