* Industry moves towards consensus-sources
* Shell supports June 2013 timeframe proposed by Platts
* No immediate comment from BP
By Alex Lawler
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell hasgiven some support to a proposal by oil pricing agency Plattsfor reforming the benchmark price assessment for Brent crudefrom June 2013, moving the industry closer towards agreement ona single standard.
Oil companies and Platts want to bolster the credibility ofcash North Sea Brent, a benchmark for global oil trade. Criticssay cash Brent is prone to manipulation because it is based onthe dwindling supply of four North Sea crude grades, sometimesleading to higher prices.
Shell put forward its own proposals last month and theprospect of two standards led to some concern among traders andcommentators about a split in liquidity in theBrent-Forties-Oseberg-Ekofisk (BFOE) forward market, which coulddamage the benchmark's credibility.
Shell, in an open letter, responded to a Feb. 18 Plattsproposal to apply quality premiums to two of the crudesdeliverable into BFOE forward contracts that help establish theBrent price.
"In order to ensure a smooth transition during the Plattsconsultation period, and in order to hopefully align the Plattschanges with SUKO90, Shell supports implementation for BFOEcargoes loading June 2013 onwards," Sell's letter said.
Platts' proposal differs from amended trading terms known asSUKO 90 which Shell announced earlier in February to take effectin May, a month earlier than Platts, which were later backed byBP Plc.
Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill which provides clientswith price benchmarks in the energy markets, is consulting theindustry on its proposal until March 10.
Sources at two companies which participate in the BFOEmarket said while technical differences remained, Shell's moveindicated the industry was almost on the same page.
"We seem to be coming to a point where everyone is more orless in agreement," one of the sources said.
"We would expect it to move towards some sort of consensus,"said the other source.
SOME DIFFERENCES
Platts proposed applying quality premiums for Oseberg and Ekofisk crude from June 2013 - two of thefour crudes deliverable into BFOE forwards.
Shell, custodian of the terms that govern BFOE trading knownas SUKO 90, had said it would apply a premium to Brent crude aswell and begin in May, a month earlier than Platts.
But Shell in the open letter, posted on its website andwhich a source said it sent to Platts on Friday, had somedifferent suggestions on how the quality premiums werecalculated.
It recommended a lower weight for Oseberg crude thanproposed by Platts, and said a longer time frame to calculateaverages could avoid price volatility.
Oil traders say the introduction of quality premiums wouldencourage traders to deliver the full range of eligible crudesinto the BFOE contracts, increasing liquidity. At present,Forties most often tends to be delivered.
The cheapest of the four BFOE crudes - usually Fortiesbecause it is of lower quality - sets the value of dated Brent,used to price cargoes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa andparts of Asia.
Asked for its view, BP said it was considering the detailsbefore responding.
BP (BP.)
