Western Canada Select (WCS) crude’s discount to the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Tuesday as the Keystone pipeline shutdown continued for a sixth day:
WCS for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, widened to trade at $29.25 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, from $28.20 a barrel under the benchmark on Monday.
TC Energy’s 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone pipeline, a key artery bringing Canadian crude south to U.S. refineries, has been shut down since last Wednesday after a leak was discovered in Kansas.
The cause of the leak is still unknown and TC has not said when the pipeline will resume operations. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said TC is yet to submit a restart plan.
The impact on Canadian differentials has been relatively muted so far because there is ample spare capacity in Canadian storage tanks, market players said.
Global oil prices climbed as investors bought up risk assets after U.S. data pointed to slowing inflation. (Reporting by Nia Williams; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)