ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — China National Petroleum Corp. is in talks with Kazakhstan's state energy company on acquiring a 49 percent stake in the Central Asian country's fourth-largest oil producer, a KazMunaiGaz spokesman said Monday.CNPC's proposed purchase of the stake in MangistauMunaiGaz would consolidate Chinese energy interests in the oil-rich region. MangistauMunaiGaz, which controls oil reserves estimated at 500 million barrels, has also been eyed by Russia and India's national energy companies in recent months.
 
 In 2008, China imported six million tons of oil through the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline, a 26 percent increase on the previous year. Russia also uses the route, which is jointly managed by CNPC and KazMunaiGas, to transport its oil exports to China.China hopes the completion of the third section of the pipeline by the end of this year will eventually see an increase in annual capacity to 20 million tons of oil by 2020.Kazakhstan is eager to diversify its oil export routes, most of which currently go to Western buyers across Russian territory.

"KMG and CNPC are currently negotiating CNPC's involvement in the purchase of MMG, and we are planning to sign some documents on that in the nearest future," Arzhan Takachakov, a spokesman for the state energy company, KazMunaiGaz, said by E-mail.KazMunaiGaz did not specify the terms of the deal. KazMunaiGaz secured its 50 percent-plus-two-shares stake in MangistauMunaiGaz from the British Virgin Islands-registered Central Asia Petroleum in January.China is seeking to bolster its energy security by sealing long-term deals with neighboring states and reducing its reliance on maritime oil transportation routes.Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is to fly to China on Wednesday for a five-day visit. According to recent media reports, China could use the visit to agree on a deal for billion worth of investments in Kazakhstan's energy sector. Analysts say the agreement could pave the way for preferential conditions in CNPC's acquisition of the MMG stake.China secured similarly advantageous assurances in February, when it signed a long-term oil supply contract and pipeline deal with Russia worth billion.MangistauMunaiGaz's holdings include 36 oil and gas fields, of which 15 are currently under development. The company also owns a 58-percent stake in the Pavlodar refinery.CNPC bought Canadian-run oil producer PetroKazakhstan for .18 billion in 2005, the largest foreign purchase by a Chinese company at the time. A 33 percent stake in PetroKazakhstan was sold to KazMunaiGaz in July 2006 amid pressure from the Kazakh government for greater national ownership of the energy sector.In 2008, China imported six million tons of oil through the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline, a 26 percent increase on the previous year. Russia also uses the route, which is jointly managed by CNPC and KazMunaiGas, to transport its oil exports to China.China hopes the completion of the third section of the pipeline by the end of this year will eventually see an increase in annual capacity to 20 million tons of oil by 2020.Kazakhstan is eager to diversify its oil export routes, most of which currently go to Western buyers across Russian territory.