Canadian heavy crude’s discount widened to more than $10 a barrel versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) on Tuesday, the first day of the September trading cycle, as production climbs, traders said.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $11.15 per barrel below WTI. Prices for August ended the cycle trading less than $7 a barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc.
Canadian producers including Husky Energy Inc and bigger rival Suncor Energy Inc have said Western Canadian oil companies are moving to restore all the production that they shut-in.
Alberta, the main oil-producing province in Canada, curtailed some 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this spring as coronavirus-led lockdowns crushed demand for products like gasoline and jet fuel
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for September delivery traded at 40 cents a barrel under WTI, after August prices ended the cycle at around 90 cents below WTI.
Benchmark oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent oil futures closing at their highest level since early March on hopes the United States is making progress on a new economic stimulus package, as well as curbing the coronavirus spread.