(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, has hired advisers to review a potential multi-billion dollar stake sale in its pipeline business, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The energy giant is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as it makes early preparations for the potential deal, according to the people, who asked not to to be identified because the information is private. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. also has a role on the transaction, the people said.
Aramco hasn't yet started a formal sale process, the people said. It may wait until market turmoil caused by plunging oil prices and the impact of measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus eases before it begins soliciting interest in the asset, they said.
Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is looking for ways to raise money from assets that are not central to the company's operations. A sale could raise more than $10 billion, people familiar with the matter said last month.
Aramco, JPMorgan and MUFG declined to comment.
The review comes amid a similar move by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which is seeking to attract investors to its $15 billion gas pipeline after selling a portion of its oil pipelines for about $4 billion last year.
Saudi Arabia may slow production sooner than planned after U.S. oil futures this week plunged below zero for the first time, Bob McNally, founder of consultant Rapidan Energy Group said on Tuesday. The kingdom agreed to cut output from May 1 as part of the drive by producers to re-balance an oversupplied market.
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