The discount on heavy crude widened versus the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday as the monthly trade cycle wrapped up.
Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.00 a barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc, widening 20 cents from Wednesday’s settlement price.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for May delivery settled at $6.90 a barrel over WTI, unchanged from the nine-year high of $6.90 per barrel above the benchmark hit on Wednesday.
Upgrader maintenance in northern Alberta’s oil sands is cutting into synthetic supply throughout the second quarter.
Global benchmark oil prices settled higher after an early decline as investors covered short positions ahead of the long weekend and on news that the European Union might phase in a ban on Russian oil imports.