The discount on Canadian heavy crude versus the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was steady on Tuesday, while synthetic crude moved higher.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.90 a barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, unchanged from the previous day’s settlement.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for May delivery settled at $6.80 a barrel over WTI, strengthening 40 cents from the previous day’s settlement.
One industry source said synthetic crude supply was tight due to upgrader maintenance in northern Alberta’s oil sands.
Canadian oil prices are finding support throughout the second quarter as annual maintenance work in the oil sands shutters roughly 5% of Canada’s crude output.
Global benchmark oil prices settled higher as lockdowns eased in Shanghai and OPEC warned it would be impossible to replace potential supply losses from Russia.