BASF's Wintershall Confident After Russian Moves

Germany's Wintershall remains hungry for more co-operation with Russia in oil and gas, fresh from announcing the completion of an asset swap with its partner Gazprom last Friday.

Chief executive Mario Mehren told reporters in Munich that the company would benefit from its local knowledge in Siberia where it gains more access to fields it already exploits with Gazprom.

"We want to continue to grow our business in Russia," Mehren said. "The deal is an expression of closer ties in economic relations."

The deal had been put on hold last year as the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine resulted in western sanctions on Russia. Mehren said there was now better visibility of the market conditions.

At the same time, Wintershall would place its trading and storage business in Europe with Gazprom as a partner which could offer the units a wider market reach than the BASF group had.

He also said the company would grow in the Middle East and benefit from low production costs in Russia and Argentina, another core market.

This would help the company achieve good profits this year, helping to overcome problems with low oil prices, which meant Wintershall would have to be cost-conscious, he said.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), adjusted for special items were 3 percent down at 1.795 billion euros ($2.00 billion) in 2014 at the Kassel-based firm.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert)