Arkhangelsk: Russia is considering making an offer to buy Oman's seven per cent stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) should the Middle Eastern state decide to sell out, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Friday.
Asked whether Russia would make an offer, Sechin told Reuters: "We are studying this issue."
Shareholders in CPC, the key export route for Kazakh crude, are struggling to agree terms on the pipeline's expansion, with Russia, the key host state, opposing the plan.
Industry sources said Oman, frustrated with delays, had decided to quit the project but the country has not officially commented on the matter.
Kazakhstan would also be interested in the stake should it become available, Timur Kulibayev, president of oil industry group KazEnergy, said.
Russia has a 24 per cent stake in CPC and Kazakhstan owns 19 per cent. The rest belongs to private shareholders.
