The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed slightly on Monday:
• WCS for May delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $13.20 and $13.25 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, after closing at $13.45 a barrel below the benchmark on Friday.
• Canadian heavy crude differentials have been largely steady after strengthening at the start of the month on news that the 600,000 barrel-per-day Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project will start operating on May 1.
• Canadian oil and gas producer Tamarack Valley Energy has temporarily shut in about 6,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production after a fire at a third-party gas plant at Mitsue, Alberta.
• Global oil prices slipped lower after Iran’s weekend attack on Israel proved to be less damaging than anticipated, easing concerns of a quickly intensifying conflict that could displace crude barrels.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)