LONDON: Oil pricing agency S&P Global Platts plans to adjust the way it calculates the price of North Sea dated Brent by reflecting cargo offers on a delivered basis, its latest move to ensure enough supply underpins the global price benchmark.

A steady decline in crude production from the North Sea has led to concern that output could become too low and hence could be accumulated by just a few players, making the benchmark vulnerable to manipulation.

Platts said on Monday that it plans to reflect offers of BFOE cargoes made on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis in the dated Brent price benchmark as of Oct 1 2019.

"Allowing offers for these crudes on a CIF basis in Northwest Europe will enable the inclusion of a greater amount of market data in the North Sea's light sweet crude oil benchmark," Platts said in a statement.

Dated Brent is based on five British and Norwegian North Sea crudes - Brent itself, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk and Troll, or BFOE as they are known. The price - used in oil deals around the world - is set by the cheapest grade.

The Brent price is used to set the price of billions of dollars of daily oil trade though a forward market for BFOE crude cargoes, swaps markets, physical benchmark dated Brent and Brent crude futures.

Platts also said it would move ahead with an earlier announced plan to introduce a quality premium for Troll crude, which is aimed at smoothing out pricing differences between the various grades of oil.

To guarantee the liquidity of the dated Brent market, Platts has increased the number of grades that underpin the benchmark from Brent originally.

The company on Monday announced no further additions.

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