BERLIN  - Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world's fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, is in talks to become a partner in Iraq's Nebras petrochemical project, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday.

Kadhim Mohammed Jawad Hassan told Reuters on the sidelines of CWC's Iraq Petroleum Conference in Berlin that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iraq on the project are advanced and at the ministerial level.

He said SABIC would enter as a fourth partner with Royal Dutch Shell, and the Iraqi oil and agriculture ministeries.

SABIC was planning to open an office in Iraq late last year.

The Nebras project is still in the pre-FEED (front end engineering design) stage.

(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, editing by Louise Heavens) ((Ahmad.Ghaddar@thomsonreuters.com; +442075424435; Reuters Messaging: ahmad.ghaddar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))