CANADA — CRUDE — Discount on Western Canada Select widens again
Oct 16 (Reuters) — The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened again on Friday. WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $27 a barrel below the US benchmark WTI, compared with $26.40 on Thursday, according to brokerage CalRock. The discount is now more than $15 wider than it was at this time last year. The widening reflects a combination of growing Venezuelan imports into the US Gulf Coast, refinery disruptions, growing oil sands production and tighter pipeline utilization, TD Cowen said in a report. The dramatic widening has been a "surprising negative" that reinforces the importance of proposed new pipeline projects to Canada's additional export capacity, the report said. Brent touched $110 a barrel for the first time since May on Friday on worries that escalating tensions in the Middle East could further tighten supplies, while investors assessed how much diesel Russia could supply to the global market. (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston Editing by Matthew Lewis) ((amanda.stephenson@thomsonreuters.com)
Oct 16 (Reuters) — The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures widened again on Friday. WCS for November delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $27 a barrel below the US benchmark WTI, compared with $26.40 on Thursday, according to brokerage CalRock. The discount is now more than $15 wider than it was at this time last year. The widening reflects a combination of growing Venezuelan imports into the US Gulf Coast, refinery disruptions, growing oil sands production and tighter pipeline utilization, TD Cowen said in a report.
The dramatic widening has been a "surprising negative" that reinforces the importance of proposed new pipeline projects to Canada's additional export capacity, the report said. Brent touched $110 a barrel for the first time since May on Friday on worries that escalating tensions in the Middle East could further tighten supplies, while investors assessed how much diesel Russia could supply to the global market. (Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston Editing by Matthew Lewis) ((amanda.stephenson@thomsonreuters.com)