German Wintershall has oil chance in Iraq-minister

BERLIN, July 17 (Reuters) - German oil and gas company Wintershall, part of chemicals group BASF (BASF.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), has a "big chance" of winning oil exploration rights in Iraq, German Economy Minister Michael Glos was quoted on Thursday as saying.

"The German crude oil firm Wintershall has, for example, a big chance of getting exploration rights for crude oil in Iraq," Glos told daily Die Welt. "I hope that it and other firms get more involved in extracting crude oil in Iraq." "But the German construction and construction materials industry also have a big chance," added Glos, who at the weekend became the first German cabinet minister to visit Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003.

BASF said at the start of the month that Wintershall had acquired the right to apply for an oil licence in Iraq.

Glos noted that investing in oil production in Iraq was likely to bring relief to global oil markets.

Germany is due to welcome Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki next week, and Glos said he believed Iraq was now "ripe" for investment.

"It seems to me that (al-Maliki) has to a large extent managed to push back the terrorists with his own security forces, across all ethnic groups," Glos said. "My impression is that the security situation is improving."

(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Erica Billingham)