Heavy crude discount widens as oil glut continues

The Canadian heavy oil differential widened against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday, remaining near historically wide levels as production continues to surpass transport capacity:

* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for December delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $45 a barrel below WTI crude futures , compared with Wednesday's settle of $43.25, according to Shorcan Energy brokers.

* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for December delivery settled at $33 under WTI, compared with Wednesday's settle of $30.

* The hefty discounts on Canadian crudes reflect too much supply for Canada's pipelines and railways, despite increased rail shipments this year, said Matt Murphy, analyst at investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co.

* The heavy crude differential remains wide despite some Midwest refineries finishing maintenance turnarounds. Many refineries continued to buy and store Canadian oil during downtime, Murphy said.

* Global crude futures fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday, with U.S. crude futures hitting lows not seen since April, due to growing concerns that global demand is weakening at a time when output from the world's major oil producers is surging.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Calgary, Alberta Editing by Matthew Lewis)