The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed slightly on Monday:
* WCS for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.80 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at $13.20 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Friday.
* Canadian heavy crude differentials have gained support this month from some U.S. Midwest refineries restarted operations after unplanned shut-downs in July.
* Exxon Mobil restarted select units at its 251,800 barrel-per-day refinery in Joliet, Illinois, three weeks after it lost power following a storm, the company said last week.
* However, Exxon reported a unit upset at Joliet on Saturday and Sunday, according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency
* Imperial Oil said its Sarnia site reported the beginning of maintenance work on process equipment, according to a community alert
* Global oil price jumped by more than 3%, rising for a fifth consecutive session on expectations of a widening Middle Eastern conflict that could tighten global crude oil supplies
(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)