A multinational consortium including South Korea’s NH Investment & Securities Co. won the preferential status to acquire a 49 percent interest in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc)’s natural gas pipelines worth an estimated $8 billion.

Apart from NH Investment & Securities, U.S-based Global Infrastructure Partners and Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte are included in the winning consortium.

Adnoc is state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates.

The details on the agreements for the stake purchases are yet to be finalized, including the Korean investor’s interest in the deal.

If NH Investment & Securities wins the deal with its partners, it could be one of the largest infrastructure investments made by a Korean securities firm, according to market observers.

The purchase comes at a time of questions on the oil industry due to plunging prices from weak demand. Investment banking sources expect the pipeline seller would guarantee the buyers a minimum yield for the long term to make the deal successful.

Adnoc sold a 40 percent stake in oil pipeline network, with two decades of guaranteed returns, to global investment firms KKR & Co. and BlackRock for $4 billion last year.

The U.A.E reportedly is selling the gas energy asset to raise money amid a slump in crude oil prices.

By Woo Je-yoon and Cho Jeehyun

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