Canadian heavy crude’s discount narrowed slightly versus the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil on Wednesday, as Canada’s largest oil producer signaled support for government curtailments to ease storage pressure amid a global glut.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $19.50 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, narrower than Tuesday’s settle of $20.25 under.
“Canadian storage capacity is going to be challenged in the coming weeks and months and as a function of that we would anticipate further weakness for Canadian heavy crudes,” said Michael Tran, managing director, global energy strategy at Royal Bank of Canada.
Global Brent prices rose 3% while WTI jumped 6%, buoyed by hopes that OPEC and its allies will strike a production cut agreement this week, despite a record build in U.S. crude inventories.
Producers in Western Canada could initially cut 900,000 barrels per day of output, rising to 1.5 million barrels as storage congestion intensifies, analysts at Morgan Stanley said.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd , Canada’s biggest oil producer, would support any commitment by the federal government to cut oil production as long as it was applied fairly to the industry, company president Tim McKay said.