Heavy Oil Discount Narrows

 The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) narrowed slightly on Tuesday:* WCS for September delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $12.60 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having settled at $12.80 a barrel under the U.S. benchmark on Monday.

* Canadian heavy crude differentials have gained support this month from some U.S. Midwest refineries restarted operations after unplanned shut-downs in July.

* Exxon Mobil restarted select units at its 251,800 barrel-per-day refinery in Joliet, Illinois, three weeks after it lost power following a storm, the company said last week.

* However, Exxon reported a unit upset at Joliet on Saturday and Sunday, according to Illinois Emergency Management Agency

* Canadian crude production growth is enough to fill the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline to Vancouver and also max out egress into the U.S., East Daley said in a note.

* Global oil price eased about 2%, as traders grew less nervous about the potential for a wider war in the Middle East, with Iran yet to act on threats to retaliate on Israel for assassination of a Hamas official in Tehran.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)