The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed on Wednesday:
* WCS for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $11.75 a barrel under the WTI benchmark, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at a discount of $11.90 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Tuesday.
* China’s CNOOC has begun producing the first heavy oil at the Long Lake Northwest oil sands project in northern Alberta, with peak production expected in 2025 at 8,200 barrels per day, the company said on Wednesday.
* Global oil prices settled lower as investors weighed a strong U.S. dollar against the potential that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign-policy plans could squeeze global oil supply.
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; editing by Alan Barona)