Oman Oil Co is in talks with Occidental Petroleum Corp to buy its assets in the Gulf Arab sultanate but is still waiting to know the specifics of the potential sale from the U.S. company, the Omani firm's chief executive said on Tuesday.

"We are now in negotiations with Occidental to buy their assets here in the sultanate," CEO Isam al-Zadjali told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference in Muscat.

"Now we are waiting for them to specify what exactly do they want from this deal. We are ready to buy the assets."

Oxy had said in October last year that it planned to sell a minority stake in its Middle East and North African operations as part of a restructuring program to lift its valuation.

Reuters had reported last year that three state-owned Gulf firms, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co, Qatar Petroleum and Oman Oil, were considering a joint bid for the unit, in a deal that could be worth between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Bloomberg reported in July the U.S. oil and gas company had failed to sell the combined stake in its Middle East business and planned to sell some assets piece by piece.