The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened on Friday.
WCS for April delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.20 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared to $13.15 on Thursday.
* The war in Iran has disrupted global supply of medium and heavy sour barrels, contributing to tighter spreads for heavy crude this month.
* Canada will support the International Energy Agency’s oil release with 23.6 million barrels from domestic producers, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said on Friday, meeting the target largely through already planned production.
* Crude futures climbed higher on Friday as the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, but analysts were wary the weekend might bring surprise changes in the status of the war two weeks after it started.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)