Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is exploring a potential acquisition of Wintershall Dea, the European energy explorer backed by BASF SE (XTRA:BAS), people with knowledge of the matter said. The state-owned Middle Eastern company has been studying a possible bid as it seeks to boost its global footprint, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Any deal could value Wintershall Dea at more than ?10 billion ($11 billion), the people said.