A consortium of Indian companies is preparing to bid on the renewal of Abu Dhabi’s onshore oil concession, according to a report by the India-based Telegraph newspaper.

The state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) are planning to collaborate with private energy firms such as Reliance and Essar to submit a bid, the newspaper said, citing industry sources.

The existing onshore joint venture, Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco), expires in January 2014, with companies planning to bid at the end of October for a place in the new concession.

The Indian consortium would face competition from existing shareholders such as the UK’s BP, the US’ ExxonMobil, the UK/Dutch Shell Group and France’s Total, as well as national oil companies from China, Japan and South Korea, all of which are aiming to get a stake in Abu Dhabi’s largest crude asset.

Although India is a major buyer of Abu Dhabi’s oil, the country currently has no share in the UAE’s crude production sector.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) recently said Adco would continue operations as normal if a new joint venture has not been formed by the January deadline.