Heavy crude differential widens slightly

The Canadian heavy oil differential widened slightly against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday:

* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded on Thursday afternoon at $41.75 a barrel below WTI crude futures , wider than Wednesday's settle of $41.55, according to Shorcan Energy brokers.

* The recent widening and narrowing of the differential reflects volatility in global markets, including recent talk of an OPEC production cut, a Calgary-based trader said.

* Canadian crude discounts relative to WTI should remain wide even after a maintenance period for U.S. Midwest refineries ends this year, Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman said in a note. Restarted Syncrude operations and expanding production in Canada and the United States are keeping pipelines full, he said.

* Several crude producers, including Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy , announced curtailed production in recent weeks, amounting to some 130,000 to 145,000 barrels per day of heavy oil through the fourth quarter.

* Oil futures rose on Thursday, steadying after this week's steep losses as fuel stockpile declines in the United States helped offset concerns about a potentially oversupplied market next year.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Sandra Maler)