Canadian heavy crude’s discount versus West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed on Friday as supplies remained tight and refining demand improved.
Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded at $9.10 per barrel below WTI, according to NE2 Canada Inc. It settled on Thursday at $9.75 under.
Refining utilization in the Western Canadian region averaged 79% in the third quarter of 2020, below a 3-year average of 93%, but trending up through the quarter to a high of more than 90% in recent weeks, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co analysts said in a note.
Light synthetic oil from the oil sands for November delivery traded at $3.60 below WTI, wider than Thursday’s settle of $3.25 under.
Global oil prices slipped more than 1% on Friday after an oil worker strike in Norway ended, which should boost crude output even as Hurricane Delta forced U.S. energy firms to cut production. 29dk2902l