(Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state oil company ADNOC is considering a bid for natural gas assets of investment firm Aethon Energy Management that could potentially be worth about $9 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

ADNOC has done a string of acquisitions in gas and chemicals, which along with LNG and renewables it considers as pillars for its future growth.

Last year, the energy giant bought a stake in NextDecade's liquefied natural gas export project in Texas along with a 20-year supply deal.

Deliberations regarding the U.S. energy-focused investment firm's assets are in the early stages and no final agreements have been reached, the report added.

Reuters in November reported that Aethon was exploring options for its natural gas production and midstream assets that include a sale or an initial public offering at a valuation of about $10 billion.

The upstream assets of Aethon, which primarily focus on the Haynesville shale formation in Louisiana and East Texas, constitute one of the largest privately held U.S. gas producers.

ADNOC and Aethon did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.