The state-run China\'s International Trust & Investment Corporation (CITIC) Group has purchased the Kazakh oil assets of Canadian-registered Nations Energy for $1.9 billion. Citic has agreed, however, to give Kazakh state-owned oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz the option to acquire a 50-percent stake in the purchase. The purchase gives China a stake in the Karazhanbas field in western Kazakhstan, which has proven oil reserves exceeding 340 million barrels of oil and current production levels of more than 50,000 barrels a day. (AP)