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* Says moving closer to Russia as due to gain gas fieldaccess
* Criticises EU for delaying pipeline progress
* Focuses also on new regions in Middle East
By Vera Eckert
KASSEL, Germany, March 13 (Reuters) - BASF oiland gas unit Wintershall said the Ukraine crisis would notscupper an asset-swap agreement with Gazprom whichwould give Russia greater access to gas trading and storage inGermany.
Wintershall Chief Executive Rainer Seele said on Thursdaythat the companies had all the necessary approvals and thearrangement, agreed in 2012 and approved late last year, was nowonly a matter of operational implementation.
"I see no impact from the Ukraine crisis on the process," hetold a news conference.
The deal will give Wintershall more access to Siberian gasfields as it focuses on its role as a producer rather thantransporter and trader of gas.
Board member Gerhard Koenig, in charge of trading, said:"Our customers are expecting the deal. Gazprom sees it as aspringboard for further growth in Europe and Germany."
Wintershall said it will see sales fall this year due to thedivestment in favour of Gazprom inside Germany, but that it willcompensate for that by reaping more benefits from oil and gasproduction in its core regions across the globe.
Under the swap deal, Russian state-controlled gas producerGazprom will get full control of one of Europe's leading gasstorage firms Astora and gas trader Wingas, second to E.ON in Germany's gas market, Europe's biggest.
Wintershall will gain 25 percent of the Siberian Achimov IVand V blocks, where current production is around 2 billion cubicmetres (bcm) a year and is set to quadruple to 8 bcm by 2018.
"We're getting closer to Gazprom in oil and gas, in Russiaand Europe ... We know that we are good together," Seele said.
Seele also said that Wintershall's 50 percent stake inGascade, a gas pipeline grid company which it shares withGazprom and was exempted in the swap deal, was not up for sale.
SOUTH STREAM
Board member Mario Mehren said that, notwithstandingquestions raised in Brussels over Gazprom's new South Streampipeline, work on the plan was on time and the first tranchewould be completed by the end of 2015.
Wintershall is a shareholder along with France's EDF and Italy's Eni. It is also part of the NordStream consortium which has been operating a huge pipeline forRussian gas via the Baltic Sea since 2011.
Seele criticised moves by the EU Energy Commissioner to slowprogress on an onwards link to Nord Stream, Opal, and moredelays on technical issues surrounding South Stream in thelatest sign of strains in the energy links between Moscow andthe European Union, caused by Russian forces' seizure of Crimea.
"Every pipeline is necessary as it will bring more gassecurity. (Commissioner Guenther) Oettinger needs to rethink hisstrategy," he said.
Opal, which runs to the Czech Republic and can hold 36 bcmof gas, can only be half filled due to a regulatory spat.
Seele also said an agreement to explore oil and gas in NorthAfrica with BP was agreed on March 12 but there were nodetails available. "We'll talk about it later in 2014," he said.
Wintershall gave no indication when it might resume more oilshipments from Libya where export terminal strikes have blockedtransfer of its output since July 2013, and where only itsoffshore fields are producing.
But it pegged great hopes on upcoming expansions in Norway,Argentina's unconventional gas resources, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
