The discount on Canadian heavy crude surged wider on Friday as traders waited for news on how long TransCanada Corp’s 590,000 barrel per day Keystone pipeline would be shut down following a spill in South Dakota on Thursday.
Western Canada Select for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, widened to $16.00 per barrel below the West Texas Intermediate benchmark, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. On Thursday January barrels settled at $15.50 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark.
Trading volumes were thin as Thursday was the last day of the monthly Canadian crude trading window. There was no trade in barrels for December delivery, according to Shorcan.
(Reporting by Nia Williams)