Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan shakes hands with UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan after a signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser and ADNOC CEO Ahmed al Jaber, also a minister of state of the UAE government, during an event in New Delhi, June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is in talks with some UAE-based companies to jointly bid for oil blocks in UAE, India’s oil minister said on Monday.

“We are in talks that India could bid in the next licensing round of UAE with some Middle Eastern nation companies like Mubadala,” Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s oil minister said.

“Oil producers don’t want to miss India’s bus,” Pradhan said referring to India’s enhanced role in global markets.

India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, imports about 80 percent of its oil needs, mostly from the Middle East.

Pradhan said India would consider leasing a part of its third strategic reserve in South Indian city Padur if Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is interested.

ADNOC has leased a part of India’s strategic reserve at Mangalore.