By Neetha Mahadevan 

FRANKFURT--Germany's BASF SE and Russia's OAO Gazprom on Friday agreed to complete an asset-swap deal signed in December 2013 but called-off late last year amid mounting political tensions between Russia and the West.

As previously planned, BASF, the world's largest chemical company by revenue, will exit the gas trading and storage business of its wholly owned oil and gas subsidiary, Wintershall AG, and will further expand its production of oil and gas. The deal gives Wintershall access to natural-gas fields in Siberia.

"We look forward to further expanding the joint production of natural gas and condensate with our partner Gazprom in western Siberia," BASF Chief Executive Kurt Bock said.

The completion of the asset swap, which was originally expected by end of 2014, is now due to close by the end of 2015.

The swap was already approved by the European Commission at the beginning of December 2013.

The combined activities of BASF's planned divestitures contributed around EUR12 billion ($13.35 billion) to sales and about EUR500 million to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2013, the company said previously.

BASF's natural-gas trading business, largely housed under its Wingas GmbH division, is operated as a 50-50 joint venture between Gazprom and Wintershall.

Under the terms of the deal, as originally announced, Gazprom will acquire BASF's share in that business. The Russian company will also get a 50% share in BASF's 100%-owned North Sea oil exploration and production unit, Wintershall Noordzee. In return, Gazprom and Wintershall plan to jointly develop two blocks of the Urengoi natural gas field in western Siberia.

The deal was dropped at a time when relations between Russia and the West had been increasingly strained following Russia's annexation of the Crimea region.

Write to Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 04, 2015 02:35 ET (06:35 GMT)