Canadian pipeline operator Pembina Pipeline Corp.'s joint venture with KKR & Co. has agreed to sell its 50% stake in the Key Access Pipeline System (KAPS) to private equity firm Stonepeak Partners for C$662.5 million ($484.89 million).

The deal provides Stonepeak access to a pipeline system that moves NGL to processing facilities for export to Asia, a market with a growing appetite for North American LNG as it moves away from coal and as reduced Russian exports leave a void in global supply.

Formed in March through deals worth C$11.4 billion, the joint venture PGI is owned 60% by Pembina while KKR's global infrastructure funds hold the rest.

KAPS is a 560-km pipeline system that transports NGL between western Canada's Montney and Duvernay fields to Keyera's processing facilities in Fort Saskatchewan.

Keyera Corp. will continue holding the remaining 50% stake in KAPS and will operate the asset, Stonepeak said.

Both the companies said the sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.