UPDATE 1-Gazprom eyes Hunt Oil stake in Yemen LNG project

MOSCOW, June 30 (Reuters) - Russian state gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) may buy U.S.-based Hunt Oil's stake in Yemen's liquefied natural gas plant, possibly in tandem with Saudi Arabia, Russia's government said on Wednesday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday.

Hunt has a 17.2 percent stake in the Total-led (TOTF.PA) project, which launched production in October of last year. It has two trains with a capacity of 6.7 million tonnes per year.

It sells two-thirds of its output in Europe and the United States and prices off the U.S. benchmark supply point at Henry Hub, Louisiana.

A deal to enter the Gulf LNG market would let Gazprom join fellow Russian energy company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) as a potential supplier from the region.

Rosneft has a deal with United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Energy to seek deals in the Middle East and Africa, beginning with a small gas concession in Sharjah.

Russian interest in the region could be a boon to South Stream, a pipeline to carry natural gas to southern and central Europe, backed by the Kremlin as a rival to European plans for the Nabucco pipeline. (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, writing by Melissa Akin; editing by Alfred Kueppers; editing by Simon Jessop)