Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is in talks with several energy players, including Saudi Aramco, for possible downstream joint ventures outside the region, particularly in Asia, according to a media report.

Adnoc could be considering the refinery and petrochemical project in India, for which Aramco signed an initial agreement on 11 April with a consortium of Indian state refiners, Reuters reported.

Talks are said to be at a very early stage and no decision had been taken. It was not clear if Adnoc would join Aramco on the same project, or would consider other downstream projects in the country.

In March, an executive of Indian Oil Corporation said Adnoc was interested in buying a stake in its planned refinery on its west coast in Maharashtra state.

Key executives from Aramco and India's Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals – a joint venture of Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation – signed a memorandum of understanding to take equal stakes in the project in Ratnagiri district, about 280 kilometres from Goa.

Aramco may wish to include at a later stage a strategic partner to share its 50 per cent stake in the planned Ratnagiri downstream complex, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said during the signing ceremony in New Delhi last week.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser declined to comment on whether Aramco had been in talks with Adnoc for a partnership in the project.

The project includes a 1.2-million-barrels a day (b/d) refinery integrated with petrochemical facilities with a total capacity of 18 million tonnes annually (mta).

It will be one of the largest refining and petrochemical complexes in the world, built to meet rapidly growing fuel and petrochemicals demand in India and elsewhere, and provide a steady outlet for Saudi crude oil.

Adnoc is aiming to expand its crude refining capacity by 60 per cent and boost its petrochemicals production to 11.4 mta from the current 4.5 mta by 2025, as part of its 2030 strategic objectives.

The Abu Dhabi state energy firm wants to strengthen its downstream portfolio in markets such as China and India where demand for oil is robust and rising, in a bid to secure consumption channels for its crude.