Business & Finance Club - Riyadh : Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) said it was in "mature discussions" to divest two of its key equity stakes and reinvest the proceeds in new oil and gas companies as it seeks to diversify its portfolio.

The development bank -- owned by the ten member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each holding 17 percent stakes -- did not say what it would sell.

The bank plans to reinvest the proceeds in upstream and midstream projects in the oil and gas sectors in the Middle East and North Africa region.

"We feel it is an opportune time to initiate divestments and enter new ones that further diversify our oil and gas investment portfolio," Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Nuaimi, Apicorp's chief executive and general manager said in a statement.

The bank, which had total assets of $4.1 billion at the end of 2009, did not say what amount it was expecting to raise from the divestment.