Oman becomes the latest country to sell a stake in its gas pipeline system as OQ Gas Networks (OQGN), the pipeline business of state oil firm OQ, prepares for an initial public offering.

OQGN plans to sell 2.12 billion shares, equivalent to up to 49% of its share capital. If it prices at the top end of the range, the flotation could raise 297 million Omani rials (US$772 million).

Bank Muscat SAOG, Bank of America, and EFG Hermes are acting as joint global coordinators.

Three anchor investors have already committed to taking 10% each of the offering at the top end of the range. They are Saudi Omani Investment Company, a unit of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund; Falcon Investments, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority; and Belgium-based Fluxys International.

OQGN is the exclusive operator of Oman's gas transport system. The move to sell a stake in the system follows pipeline deals in both Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, bringing private capital into major infrastructure.

In 2019 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) brought infrastructure investors into its oil pipeline network, and the following year sold a 49% stake in Adnoc Gas Pipeline Assets, with lease rights to 38 pipelines.

And in 2021 Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) sold a stake in the newly formed Aramco Gas Pipelines Company, with lease and leaseback usage rights of Aramco’s gas pipeline network.

The OQGN IPO subscription period is expected to begin at the end of September, with trading on the Muscat stock exchange starting in late October.