KazMunaiGaz interested in buying BP shares from CPC

/REUTERS, Almaty, October 7, 08/ - KazMunaiGaz is interested in buying a share of the British oil company BP in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) project, the head of the company Kaigreldy Kabyldin said to journalists. "There is unqualified interest in these assets; we have notified BP about it. Now I begin negotiations. We hope, that it doesn't delay the signing of a final agreement to expand CPC" - Kabyldin said on Tuesday. BP in mid-September announced its intention to leave the CPC project, in case it won't manage to agree with Russia on expanding capacity of the pipeline. Earlier, Oman had the similar desire. Speaking on the percentage of Oman in the project, Kabyldin said that Kazakhstan continues negotiations on the issue. "At the moment, negotiation entered commercial pert" - he said. Majority of shareholders of pipeline system, running to Novorossiysk, agreed to its expanding. BP - is the sole participant of the Consortium, which was against it. The British Company is for borrowing credits and CPC expanding at the expense of foreign borrowings. CPC - is the sole major private pipeline, which is running through RF territory. It is supposed to be expanded to 67 million ton from 33 million ton. Its operators are private companies, which consortium is headed by Chevron. Shareholders of CPC are - Russia (24 %), Kazakhstan (19 %), and Oman (7 %). Among private participants are BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, LUKOIL, Rosneft. Chevron possesses 15 %. CPC was constructed at the expense of assets of its participants that can't agree on financing of pipeline expansion, which otherwise won't flash growing volumes of oil from Kazakh deposit Tengiz. [2008-10-07]