The Canadian heavy oil differential narrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Thursday, as curtailments and brisk rail movement reduced bloated supplies: Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $7.35 a barrel below WTI crude futures , narrower than Wednesday's settle of $8.15 below WTI, according to Net Energy Exchange. The intraday price of $7.20 is the lowest discount on Canadian heavy crude to WTI since [Read more]
Heavy crude differential narrowest since mid-2015
The Canadian heavy oil differential moved to the narrowest level since mid-2015 against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Wednesday, as government-ordered curtailments and brisk crude-by-rail shipments boosted prices:* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $8.15 a barrel below WTI crude futures , narrower than Tuesday's settle of $9.20 below WTI, according to Net Energy Exchange.* The settled price is the lowest [Read more]
Bank of Canada: low Canadian dollar plays big role in adjusting to oil shock
The lower Canadian dollar is playing "an important role" in helping the economy adjust to the shock of lower crude prices, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday. The central bank it expected weak crude prices since the middle of last year to cut gross domestic product by about 0.5 percent by the end of 2020. Canada is a major oil exporter and in recent weeks the crude slump has helped pull the domestic currency down to an 18-month low against the U.S. dollar. This is helping mute the pain [Read more]
TransCanada’s Keystone crude line to cut some spot rates to Illinois, Cushing
TransCanada Corp's Keystone pipeline filed with U.S. regulators to cut some temporary discounted spot rates to haul crude from Canada to Wood River and Patoka, Illinois and Cushing Oklahoma, effective Feb. 1:* Temporary discounted spot rates for oil moving from the international boundary at or near Haskett, Manitoba, to Wood River, Patoka and Cushing would range from $21.242 to $25.032/cubic meter for light crude and $22.642 to $26.331/cubic meter for heavy crude - FERC filing. * Current [Read more]
Heavy oil discount dwindles to fresh low
The Canadian heavy oil differential narrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Tuesday to its narrowest level in more than a year and a half: Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $9.20 a barrel below WTI crude futures , narrower than Monday's settle of $10.15 below WTI, according to Net Energy Exchange. The intraday low of $9 is the lowest differential, or discount, on Canadian heavy crude to WTI since May [Read more]
Heavy crude discount smallest since 2017 as cuts cause confusion
The Canadian heavy oil differential moved against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Monday to its narrowest level in more than a year, as traders tried to sort out the impact of the Alberta government's mandated production cuts: Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded on Monday afternoon for a differential as little as $9.75 a barrel below WTI crude futures, compared with Friday's settle at $11.25 below WTI, according to [Read more]
TransCanada’s Marketlink crude line to cut some rates from Cushing
TransCanada Corp's Marketlink pipeline filed with U.S. energy regulators to cut certain spot rates to haul crude from Cushing, Oklahoma to Port Arthur and Houston, Texas, in a move expected to draw down inventories at the storage hub:* The pipeline plans to reduce the temporary discounted spot rate to $3.60 per barrel from $3.875/bbl to ship light crude from Cushing to Port Arthur - U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Friday filing* Temporary discounted spot rate to ship heavy [Read more]
U.S. oil drillers cut rigs for first week in three
U.S. energy firms cut oil rigs for the first time in three weeks as producers started to reduce their 2019 drilling plans with the collapse in crude prices at the end of last year. Drillers cut eight oil rigs in the week to Jan. 4, bringing the total count down to 877, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still much higher than a year ago when 742 rigs were active [Read more]
Heavy crude differential narrows as Alberta oil cuts take effect
The Canadian heavy oil differential narrowed against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark on Wednesday, as Alberta's mandated oil production cutbacks took effect:* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for February delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, traded on Wednesday afternoon at $12.75 a barrel below WTI crude futures , narrower than Monday's settle at $15.65 below WTI, according to Net Energy Exchange.* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for February delivery was [Read more]
U.S. drillers add oil rigs for second week in a row
U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a second week in a row even as oil prices fell to 1-1/2-year lows and headed for losses of more than 20 percent this year. Drillers added 2 oil rigs in the week to Dec. 28, bringing the total count to 885, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday. . For the month the rig count fell by 2, its first decline in six months. But for the quarter, the count was up 26, the fourth increase in a [Read more]