NEW DELHI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The overseas arm of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp and the Hinduja Group are interested in jointly developing Iranian assets, and may agree plans after an ONGC Videsh board meeting on Wednesday, company sources said. "We are not planning a joint venture at this stage. It will be a collaborative approach to jointly explore possibilities of developing the two fields," a senior official at overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh, who declined to be named, said.

He was referring to Iran's giant onshore Azadegan oil field and the South Pars gas asset.

"A final decision will be known after the board meeting."

Another ONGC Videsh official confirmed the talks with the Hindujas about developing Iranian assets.

"It will be like a joint bidding for the two assets," he said. "The equity structure and investment decision will be decided once we get the stake in the two blocks."

The Economic Times newspaper on Wednesday reported that ONGC Videsh and the Hinduja Group were in talks to form a partnership with a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Co for a presence in the two fields.

A senior official with the Hinduja Group, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the firm was waiting for the outcome of the ONGC Videsh board meet.

"We have made a proposal to ONGC and ONGC Videsh for a tie-up. Now their board has to decide on this," he said.

Iran is drawing interest from Indian and Chinese firms, keen to help tap the world's second-largest reserves of oil and gas, and considered less susceptible to western pressure.

Any plans to invest in Iran could be controversial.

Two sets of U.N. sanctions have been imposed so far on Iran because Tehran has refused to stop uranium enrichment, a process that has both military and civilian uses.

India's Essar Group said in March it was in talks with sanctions-hit Iran about developing the Azadegan field, the Middle East country's biggest oilfield with in-place reserves of 26 billion barrels.

But the group -- which has bought a U.S. steel plant -- is currently reviewing its legal position on investing in Iran's energy sector to see if it is violating U.S. sanctions on Tehran after a U.S. governor challenged Essar's proposed refinery plans in the Islamic nation.

Iran is the world's fourth-largest crude oil exporter and Azadegan, located in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, was its biggest oil find in 30 years when it was announced in 1999.

Japan's INPEX Holdings Inc. <1605.T> had been due to develop the field but talks collapsed in 2006, with the Japanese firm citing spiralling investment costs. INPEX retains a 10 percent stake. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma, Editing by Mark Williams) (([email protected]; +91-11-4178 1018; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])) Keywords: ONGC HINDUJAS/IRAN