Mario Mehren, currently a member of the board of executive directors of Wintershall and responsible for Exploration & Production Russia, North Africa and South America, has been named president of BASF's oil and gas division, effective July 1, 2015. In this function he will be head of Wintershall. He succeeds Dr. Rainer Seele, who has been named CEO of OMV, Vienna, Austria, effective July 1, 2015. Seele has been head of Wintershall since 2009.

"Over the past years, Rainer Seele has contributed significantly to expanding and further strengthening the position of Wintershall as the largest internationally operating German oil and gas company. We wish him much success in his new position," said Dr. Kurt Bock, chairman of BASF's board of executive directors.