Canadian heavy crude’s differential to benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude widened on Wednesday:
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $13.40 per barrel below the WTI benchmark, according to NE2 Canada Inc, having settled at $13.25 per barrel below the U.S. crude benchmark on Tuesday.
The modest widening of the heavy differential this month may reflect some supply recovery after frigid weather in late December hampered oil sands production, and more Saudi heavy barrels arriving at the U.S. Gulf Coast, competing with Canadian barrels, said Martin King, senior analyst at RBN Energy.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands traded at $1.25 per barrel over WTI, after settling previously at $1.35 over.
Global oil prices edged up after OPEC+ stuck to planned moderate output increases despite pressure from top consumers to raise output more quickly.