The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Wednesday:
• WCS for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $14.30 per barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, after closing at $13.75 a barrel below the benchmark on Tuesday.
• Canadian heavy crude differentials tightened sharply this month on news the 600,000 barrel-per-day Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project would start operating on May 1.
• This week’s widening is likely by driven scepticism among some traders that the project, which has been subject to lengthy delays and regulatory hold-ups, will start on time, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King.
• Global oil prices settled up $1 after three sons of a Hamas leader were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, feeding worries that ceasefire talks might stall.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Leslie Adler)