Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $12 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, wider than Tuesday’s settlement of $11.45 under.
Improving demand for heavy oil in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico has supported prices, but it will be slow to fully come back during the pandemic, said Martin King, senior analyst at RBN Energy. He added that with little Canadian crude moving by rail and pipelines not greatly oversubscribed, there are few drivers for further widening of differentials.
Oil sands production rose in October as turnarounds wrapped up, but it remains below the February peak, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co said, citing regulator data.
Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil forecast higher 2021 production in the past two weeks.
Light synthetic oil from the oil sands for January delivery traded at $4.25 below WTI, wider than Tuesday’s settle of $4.10 under.
Global oil prices rose as the market awaited a pact from producers on output and Britain’s approval of a COVID-19 vaccine gave hopes for a demand recovery a boost.29dk2902l