diff --git a/build_library/build_image_util.sh b/build_library/build_image_util.sh
index e42e14f673..cdbfb46600 100755
--- a/build_library/build_image_util.sh
+++ b/build_library/build_image_util.sh
@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ image_packages() {
     local profile="${BUILD_DIR}/configroot/etc/portage/profile"    
     ROOT="$1" PORTAGE_CONFIGROOT="${BUILD_DIR}"/configroot \
         equery --no-color list --format '$cpv::$repo' '*'
+
     # We also want to list packages that only exist in the initramfs.
     # Approximate this by listing build dependencies of coreos-kernel that
     # are specified with the "=" slot operator, excluding those already
@@ -227,14 +228,18 @@ image_packages() {
     local vdb=$(portageq-${BOARD} vdb_path)
     local kernel_pkg=$(ROOT="$1" PORTAGE_CONFIGROOT="${BUILD_DIR}"/configroot \
         equery --no-color list --format '$cpv' sys-kernel/coreos-kernel)
-    local depend_path="$vdb/$kernel_pkg/DEPEND"
-    local pkg
-    for pkg in $(awk 'BEGIN {RS=" "} /=$/ {print}' "$depend_path"); do
-        if ! ROOT="$1" PORTAGE_CONFIGROOT="${BUILD_DIR}"/configroot \
-                equery -q list "$pkg" >/dev/null ; then
-            equery-${BOARD} --no-color list --format '$cpv::$repo' "$pkg"
-        fi
-    done
+    # OEM ACIs have no kernel package.
+    if [[ -n "${kernel_pkg}" ]]; then
+        local depend_path="$vdb/$kernel_pkg/DEPEND"
+        local pkg
+        for pkg in $(awk 'BEGIN {RS=" "} /=$/ {print}' "$depend_path"); do
+            if ! ROOT="$1" PORTAGE_CONFIGROOT="${BUILD_DIR}"/configroot \
+                    equery -q list "$pkg" >/dev/null ; then
+                equery-${BOARD} --no-color list --format '$cpv::$repo' "$pkg"
+            fi
+        done
+    fi
+
     # In production images GCC libraries are extracted manually.
     if [[ -f "${profile}/package.provided" ]]; then
         xargs --arg-file="${profile}/package.provided" \