Shell bought a Murban crude cargo loading in August from BP on RIM's trading platform for 10 cents a barrel above its official selling price (OSP) after BP reduced its offer from a premium of 20 cents.

Subsequently, Shell bought two more Murban cargoes from Petro-Diamond and Total on Platts window at premiums of 10 cents and 5 cents, respectively, and it also purchased a Das cargo from Total at parity to its OSP.

Shell also received three Upper Zakum crude cargoes from Vitol, Total and Chevron after completing trades in Dubai partials on Platts window.

This brings Shell's total purchase so far this month to nine cargoes.

Cash Dubai's premium edged up 4 cents to $2.09 a barrel after Shell bought most of the 50 August Dubai partials traded on the window.

Elsewhere, trading remained muted as refiners were still waiting for more official selling prices from Iraq, Kuwait and Iran.

ASIA-PACIFIC CRUDE: Indonesia has set the official Indonesia Crude Price (ICP) for Minas crude oil at $69.05 a barrel for May, down 39 cents from the previous month, a document from the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources showed.

The May Minas alpha, or price difference to dated Brent, was set at minus $2.07 per barrel, down 25 cents from a month ago, the document showed.

More preliminary loading programmes for Australian and Papua New Guinean crude emerged.

Santos will be marketing a 400,000-barrel Van Gogh crude cargo for loading on Aug. 7-11 while BHP has a 550,000-barrel Pyrenees cargo to load in late August, traders said.

Oil Search will be marketing two Kutubu crude cargoes loading on Aug. 12-16 and Aug. 28-Sept. 1, they said.

RUSSIA: ONGC sold its Sokol cargo loading on Aug. 8-13 to BP at $5.30-$5.40 a barrel above Dubai quotes.