UPDATE 1-EU fails to agree oil, gas anti-corruption law

* Exemptions a sticking point

* Differences narrowed, further talks in April

* U.S. appeals court to hear challenge to U.S. law this week

* Soros, France, Britain back rigour

(Updates after end of talks) By Barbara Lewis

BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - The European Union failed to reach agreement on Tuesday on a planned law that would require oil, gas and mining companies to declare payments to governments.

The law is part of efforts to end poverty in resource-rich nations and follows similar legislation passed in the United States.

Though EU officials had said Tuesday's talks on a legal text could be the last, a spokeswoman for the EU presidency, held by Ireland, said there would have to be another round in April.

"Hopefully, that really will be the last. There were technical difficulties about the administrative burden on companies, but we made good progress," the spokeswoman said.

It remains unclear whether the EU rules will be as rigorous as a U.S. law, which has led to a challenge through the courts.

On Friday, a U.S. appeals court will hear oral arguments in the case against regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission brought by industry body the American Petroleum Institute.

In Brussels, the last major sticking point is the issue of exemptions, which oil companies say are necessary to take account of the law in certain regimes in which they operate.

Campaign groups disagree.

"It's essential the EU follows the U.S. and deletes any reference to exemptions," Eloise Todd, Brussels director of anti-poverty group ONE, said.

"Any whiff of exemptions in these rules could open the door to corrupt regimes exempting oil companies from reporting the payments they make."

Once an EU text has been decided, it will require endorsement from parliament and member states, which would be expected over the coming weeks. Ireland aims to finalise the dossier before the end of its presidency in June.

SOROS VERSUS SHELL

Investor and philanthropist George Soros is among those to back watertight requirements to ensure any payments are declared to regulatory authorities where firms are registered.

In a speech in February, he said investors stood to gain from disclosure because it made assessing risk in firms easier.

He voiced concern the Dutch government was under pressure from Royal Dutch Shell , prompting a stiff rebuttal.

Dick Benschop, president director of Shell Nederland BV, issued a statement denying the firm was exerting pressure "to relax the rules".

"Contrary to what Mr. Soros claims, some countries have national legislation actually prohibiting openness about the flow of funds," he said, without naming the countries. "The consequence is that companies like Shell will eventually be forced to elect to break the law somewhere in the world."

In addition to exemptions, another big debate in Europe has centred on the threshold for declaring payments.

EU sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, predicted the EU limit would be similar to the U.S. one.

In votes in September, the European Parliament backed reporting from a minimum threshold of 80,000 euros ($104,500), almost identical to the $100,000 U.S. requirement.

It is much higher than the 15,000 euros some campaigners say is enough to matter, but far below the million-dollar level some resource firms had said was practical.

Britain, France and the Netherlands, home to Europe's biggest oil companies BP , Total and Royal Dutch Shell, have also offered support for tough requirements.

French President Francois Hollande in a speech last October said France would push, at a European level, for publication "country by country, project by project, without exception".

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, also speaking in October, called for rules "similar to the high standards already introduced by the U.S."

The Netherlands holds a similar opinion, according to Bart Visser, a spokesman for the Dutch economic affairs ministry.

"We don't think exemptions should be made because we would like to create a level playing field for companies in Europe," Visser said on Tuesday.

($1 = 0.7654 euros)

(Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Ivana Sekularac in Amsterdam; editing by Jason Neely)

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Keywords: EU TRANSPARENCY