KUWAIT/LONDON: The UK investment arm of Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund will buy an oil and gas pipeline firm in the UK for £1.3 billion. Wren House, the investment infrastructure arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, will purchase the North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP) energy company from ArcLight Capital, reported Reuters. NSMP owns several key natural gas transport pipelines in the UK, including a 67 percent interest in the SIRGE and FUKA pipelines which moves natural gas from North Sea and West of Shetlands basin fields. The firm also holds a controlling stake in the St Fergus Gas Terminal and Teesside Gas Processing Plant.

The Aberdeen-based energy firm also has contracts with the Iranian Oil Company, a factor that raised concerns of the financial impact in the event of possible new US sanctions against neighboring Iran. The current NSMP management team, including chief executive Andy Heppel, will keep their jobs, Reuters reported, quoting an unnamed source at the firm.

In 2015, Wren House bought a 25 percent stake in Spain's gas and electricity utility giant, Gas Natural Fenosa, investing $550 million. The KIA, through Wren House, has embarked on a long-term strategy of investments in infrastructure in Europe. In the UK, KIA holds stakes in Associated British Ports, London City Airport and Thames Water. The Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund is ranked the fourth-largest in the world, after Norway, China and the UAE, managing an estimated $592 billion in assets.

By Khaled Al-Yousef