The Canadian heavy oil differential widened modestly against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday, after a portion of the critical Keystone pipeline shut down due to a potential leak:
* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $9.90 a barrel below WTI crude futures after word of the shutdown spread, wider than earlier trades at $9.40. The spread had settled at $10 below WTI on Wednesday, according to Net Energy Exchange.
* A portion of TransCanada Corp's Keystone oil pipeline remained shut on Thursday for investigation of a possible leak on its right-of-way near St. Louis, Missouri.
* The 590,000 barrels-per-day Keystone pipeline is a critical artery taking Canadian crude from northern Alberta to U.S. refineries.
* Traders said the heavy differential widened modestly as shippers and buyers took note of the outage but they awaited further details before making more dramatic moves.
* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for March delivery traded at 40 cents under WTI, compared with Wednesday's settle of 10 cents over WTI.
* Global oil prices fell on Thursday after data showing a rise in U.S. inventories weighed on sentiment already rattled by the global economy.
(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; editing by Diane Craft)
Heavy crude differential widens after part of Keystone line shuts
The Canadian heavy oil differential widened modestly against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday, after a portion of the critical Keystone pipeline shut down due to a potential leak:
* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $9.90 a barrel below WTI crude futures after word of the shutdown spread, wider than earlier trades at $9.40. The spread had settled at $10 below WTI on Wednesday, according to Net Energy Exchange.
* A portion of TransCanada Corp's Keystone oil pipeline remained shut on Thursday for investigation of a possible leak on its right-of-way near St. Louis, Missouri.
* The 590,000 barrels-per-day Keystone pipeline is a critical artery taking Canadian crude from northern Alberta to U.S. refineries.
* Traders said the heavy differential widened modestly as shippers and buyers took note of the outage but they awaited further details before making more dramatic moves.
* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for March delivery traded at 40 cents under WTI, compared with Wednesday's settle of 10 cents over WTI.
* Global oil prices fell on Thursday after data showing a rise in U.S. inventories weighed on sentiment already rattled by the global economy.
(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; editing by Diane Craft)
