Canadian heavy crude’s differential to benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude widened on Tuesday.
Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, last traded at $12.65 per barrel below the WTI benchmark, according to NE2 Canada Inc, having settled at $12.45 per barrel below the U.S. crude benchmark on Monday.
Heavy crude differentials have held in a range roughly between $12 and $13 a barrel below WTI since narrowing sharply last week.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd released details of upcoming maintenance shutdowns that will impact production. The Horizon oil sands plant will start a 32-day turnaround in March, while the Scotford upgrader will start a 65-day turnaround in May. The maintenance work will reduce full-year production by 35,000 barrels per day, Canadian Natural said.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for February delivery widened to trade at 25 cents a barrel below WTI, having settled at 10 cents a barrel under the benchmark on Monday.
Global oil prices rose, supported by tight supply and expectations that rising coronavirus cases and the spread of the Omicron variant will not derail a global demand recovery.