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The discount on Western Canada Select crude oil to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures was steady on Friday.
WCS for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $15.25 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, flat on Thursday’s close.
* The discount on Canadian heavy crude widened approximately $1 per barrel over the month of January in the wake of heightened market volatility caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated goal to increase Venezuelan oil production.
* Investors are watching for the potential for an increase in Venezuelan barrels to compete with similar-in-quality Canadian heavy oil in the U.S. Gulf Coast over the longer term.
* The market is also watching pipeline capacity, said RBN Energy analyst Martin King. Enbridge ‘s Mainline, which transports Canadian crude to U.S. refineries, was running at its highest level capacity in two years for the month of February and appears to be running very close to full, King said.
* Alberta’s oil production continues to hover at or near record highs, King said, but the market will also be watching to see if upcoming turnarounds and maintenance projects in the oil sands region could impact production levels this spring.
* Global oil prices settled higher on Friday, reversing earlier losses as traders worried that this week’s talks between the U.S. and Iran had failed to reduce the risk of a military conflict between the two countries.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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