The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tightened marginally on Tuesday:
* WCS for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $19.40 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock. WCS settled at $19.45 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Monday.
* Market participants are awaiting news on the timing of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) entering service. The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) will hold an oral hearing on a variance request from Trans Mountain on Friday.
* Further delays to the pipeline will weigh on WCS prices, which are also coming under pressure from looming U.S. Gulf Coast refinery maintenance that is likely to reduce demand for heavy crude, one trader said.
* Global oil prices climbed around 2% as the Middle East crisis and a Libyan supply outage pared the previous day’s heavy losses.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Rashmi Aich)