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SINGAPORE - * The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) said on Monday it had started a public consultation on adding Abu Dhabi's Murban crude as an alternative grade for delivery into its Oman crude futures contract
* The consultation comes after DME received preliminary regulatory approval, it said in a statement on its website
* The deadline to submit comments is May 21, DME said
* Murban could add about 700,000 barrels per day to the volume of oil available for delivery on DME
* This will "reinforce the benchmark transparency and fair market value representation," DME said
* The exchange may set price differentials to account for the difference in quality between Oman and Murban grades, trade sources said earlier
(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Tom Hogue and David Evans) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))