* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading Friday afternoon at $44.20 a barrel below WTI crude futures , compared with Thursday’s settle of $45, according to Shorcan Energy brokers.
* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for December delivery was trading at $30 under WTI, compared with Thursday’s settle of $33.
* In the short term, some relief on price differentials may come from producers’ curtailing production and an increase of rail volumes, said Elias Foscolos, analyst at IA Financial Group.
* Cenovus Energy , MEG Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd all announced output cuts this week.
* Global crude futures fell 1 percent on Friday, heading for a weekly loss of over 6 percent, as investors worried about oversupply when the United States said it will temporarily spare eight jurisdictions from Iran-related sanctions.