Heavy Oil Discount Narrows Within Tight Range

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed slightly on Tuesday and continued to hold within this month’s slim trading range.* WCS for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $19.30 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having closed at $19.40 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark on Monday.

* Canadian heavy crude differentials have hovered around $19 a barrel below WTI so far this month, pressured by the shutdown of BP’s 435,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery and fresh delays to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) project.

* Global oil futures settled higher as geopolitical tensions continued in the Middle East and eastern Europe, but gains were curtailed as investors reined in expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)