DUBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco will increase its stake in liquefied natural gas firm MidOcean Energy to 49% and fund its acquisition of a new 15% stake in Peru LNG from Hunt Oil Company, MidOcean and Hunt said on Monday.

The Saudi oil giant agreed to buy a minority stake in MidOcean from EIG for $500 million last year, its first foray into LNG abroad, without disclosing the stake's size.

Aramco, the world's top oil exporter, is seeking to strengthen its position in the LNG market, which is set to grow by 50% globally by 2030, especially in the United States where LNG capacity is set to almost double over the next four years.

MidOcean did not disclose how much it is paying for the stake in Peru LNG (PLNG) or the value of Aramco's funding.

Aramco declined to comment beyond the statement.

Representatives for EIG did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

"We are focused on positioning the PLNG project for the future, and the opportunity to bring in MidOcean as a partner was a great strategic fit to make that happen," Hunt CEO Mark Gunning said in the statement.

Hunt declined to comment beyond the statement.

Washington, DC-headquartered MidOcean bought a 20% stake in PLNG for $256.5 million in April.

MidOcean and Hunt will each hold a 35% stake in PLNG when the deal closes, MidOcean said in its statement.

"Aramco's further investment in MidOcean strengthens MidOcean and Aramco's position in the global LNG market and will provide both parties with further exposure to the only LNG export project in South America," MidOcean said.

Aramco will hold an indirect stake of 17.2% in PLNG. Hunt continues to hold a 25.2% holding in the Camisea upstream project in Peru, where it has been invested since 2000, MidOcean said.

PLNG's assets include a natural gas liquefaction plant with a 4.45 million tons per annum (mtpa) processing capacity.

Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said earlier this year his company may partner with MidOcean to invest in LNG projects outside of Australia.

Aramco's interest in MidOcean deepens its relationship with EIG, which led a consortium to buy a 49% stake in Aramco's oil pipelines business in 2021 for $12.4 billion.

MidOcean announced in March the close of its acquisition of Australian LNG projects from Japan's Tokyo Gas.

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https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/aramco-up-stake-eigs-midocean-49-fund-new-stake-peru-lng-2024-09-16/