Kazakhstan eyes Oman's CPC stake-industry official

ASTANA, July 4 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is interested in buying Oman's 7 percent stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) should the Middle Eastern state decide to sell out, an influential oil industry group official said on Friday.

Shareholers in CPC, the key export route for Kazakh crude, are struggling to come to terms on the pipeline's expansion, with Russia, the key host state, opposing the plan.

Industry sources told Reuters this week Oman, frustrated with delays, has decided to quit the project but the country has not officially commented on the matter.

"There would certainly be interest (to buy the stake)," Timur Kulibayev, President of oil industry group KazEnergy, told reporters. "The national company (KazMunaiGas) is working on it."

Kulibayev, also son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, said Russia was interested in Oman's stake as well.

Russia has a 24 percent stake in CPC and Kazakhstan owns 19 percent. The rest belongs to private shareholders: Chevron (CVX.N), BP (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), ExxonMobil (XOM.N), LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) and Rosneft (ROSN.MM). (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov)