UPDATE 1-Sinochem near $320 mln deal to buy Kazakh oil firm

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BEIJING Nov 5 (Reuters) - China's Sinochem Corp is near a $320 million deal to buy an independent oil firm in Kazakhstan, industry sources told Reuters on Thursday, deepening Chinese state investment in the central Asian nation's oil sector.

"The deal will be concluded soon," said one source familiar with the talks, adding that the target firm is currently producing about 4,000 barrels per day of oil.

The deal, which has won Kazakh government approval, follows a $939 million investment by China's sovereign wealth fund for a 11 percent stake in Kazakhstan's No. 2 oil producer.

In April, China's top energy group CNPC agreed with Kazakh state oil KazMunaiGas to jointly buy oil producer MangistauMunaiGas for $3.3 billion. As part of the deal, China agreed to lend Kazakhstan $10 billion in a loan-for-oil deal. [ID:nPEK332461].

Sinochem Corp, China's No. 4 oil firm, has been an increasingly active acquirer recently.

In August, Sinochem agreed a $878 million takeover of Emerald Energy Plc EMEN.L with oil and gas assets in Syria and Colombia.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Jim Bai; Editing by Ken Wills)