MUMBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) is in talks with three Russian firms about a joint bid for a stake in YPF, the Argentinean arm of Spanish oil major Repsol YPF SA (REP.MC), the Economic Times said on Wednesday citing an unnamed person privy to the development. The potential deal size may be more than $17 billion, the paper said, adding that it was not immediately clear what stake ONGC may bid for. Repsol owns 84 percent of the Argentinean firm. ONGC's offshore unit ONGC Videsh is in talks with Rosneft (ROSN.MM), Lukoil (LKOH.MM) and Gazprom (GAZP.MM) as it looks to compete with China National Petroleum Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp (0883.HK) for a stake in YPF, the paper said. India's ONGC and clutch of Chinese oil firms have been competing to secure overseas energy assets to fuel their countries' fast growing economies. "We continuously look for opportunities," the paper quoted the ONGC chairman RS Sharma as saying. But the chairman declined to comment on the deal, the paper added. ONGC officials could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters. (Reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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