* Investigators at Platts in London for third day
* Raid the price of being relevant, Platts boss told staff
* Platts vetting procedure for price contributions in focus
* Platts still operating business as usual
By Peg Mackey
LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - European anti-trust investigatorson Thursday searched the offices of price agency Platts and atleast one major oil company for a third day, hunting forevidence of possible price manipulation on oil markets,witnesses said.
Authorities on Tuesday raided Platts' London Canary Wharfbureau and the offices of Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest trading probe since theLibor scandal.
With attention focused on Platts' role in setting oil pricebenchmarks, the publisher - a unit of McGraw-Hill - isin lockdown during the European Commission's inspection, saysources familiar with the company.
A team of inspectors is gathering evidence from laptops, thewitnesses said.
"We are all in the dark about it. The investigators willlikely be here all week," said one member of Platts staff. "We have all been told explicitly not to speak to anyone aboutit."
Platts continues to operate business as normal, traderssaid.
As investigators raided the office, reporters were told byPlatts management to cooperate. Editorial director Dan Tanzstood up to say it was the "price of being relevant."
A spokeswoman for Platts did not immediately respond to arequest for comment.
At issue is whether there was collusion to distort prices ofcrude, refined oil products and ethanol traded during Platts'market-on-close (MOC) system - a daily half-hour "window" inwhich it sets prices.
But the European Commission also is examining whethercompanies were prevented from taking part in the priceassessment process.
A Hungarian ethanol producer on Wednesday was the firstcompany to identify itself as having complained to the EuropeanCommission about a Platts procedure that vets companies beforethey are permitted to participate in its price settingmechanism..
Pannonia Ethanol said it approached Platts last spring togain access to contribute to the market-on-close window.
It said Platts refused to give the company access, citing"editorial discretion".
Platts said its established procedure was to vet newparticipants and had followed the process with Pannonia Ethanol.
Commission inspectors are also continuing their search atthe offices of Norwegian Statoil.
"As far as I know, the inspectors are still at our office,"said Statoil spokesman Jannik Lindbaek. "When they came theysaid that they would spend some days."
BP and Shell said they were still cooperating with theEuropean authorities.
London is home to some of the biggest trading desks in theoil business. Following the Libor scandal, Britain approvedlegislation making a criminal offence of false or misleadingstatements in relation to the setting of financial benchmarks.
But Britain will be unable to act against any oil companiesfound guilty of price manipulation under current laws becausethey do not include energy benchmarks and punishment would notbe doled out retrospectively, the prime minister's office saidon Thursday.
That leaves the European Commission, which can impose largefines, as the most likely source of any sanctions.
Thomson Reuters, parent of Reuters news, competeswith Platts in providing news and information to the oil market.
