* China, Nigeria in talks after $50 billion offer in June

* Nigeria desperate for funding to fill joint venture gaps

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - China is ready to invest $50 billion to acquire 6 billion barrels of Nigerian oil reserves in a proposal made in June, a sum which could help the OPEC member fund its joint ventures with oil majors, a top adviser said.

Several state-run Chinese oil firms, including CNOOC, are in talks with Nigeria about Beijing's search for proven oil reserves, which include incursions into some oil blocks held by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N).

"The application was to acquire reserves of 6 billion barrels which we are currently discussing. They are prepared to spend as much as $50 billion," Emmanuel Egbogah, Nigeria's presidential adviser on energy, told reporters in New Delhi where he is attending a conference.

Nigeria's junior oil minister said in September China would not be given all the reserves it was seeking, but Nigeria's state-run NNPC could sell stakes in joint ventures with existing oil partners if Beijing offered the right price.

Shell, which is one of several Western oil firms that operates in Nigeria through joint ventures with NNPC, has vowed to fight any possible efforts by the Nigerian government to hand control of its fields to Chinese oil companies.

 

 

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