The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures narrowed on Friday.
WCS for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.80 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $13.20 on Thursday.
* After spending much of the year in the $9-$11 range, in large part due to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which has given Canadian oil producers additional export capacity, the WCS discount has recently widened.
* The widening can be attributed in part to rising Canadian production growth that has increased pressure along the country’s export pipelines, as well as normal seasonal patterns.
* In spite of recent widening, the discount on Canadian heavy crude remains tight from a historical perspective.
* Global oil prices fell on Thursday as investors focused on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and eyed large surpluses in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Alan Barona)