Kazakhstan may favor China to acquire a stake in the country's largest oilfield because it can offer loans as part of the deal, said Dominic Lewenz, an analyst at Visor Capital.

The Kazakh government is ready to exercise an option to buy a stake in place of India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp before selling the asset on to one of China's State-run producers, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Indian company agreed to buy ConocoPhillips' 8.4 percent holding in the Kashagan field for $5 billion in November.