Heavy oil discount narrows further on wildfire risk

The discount on Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tightened for a second consecutive day on Friday:

WCS for August delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.75 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having closed at $14.60 a barrel below WTI on Thursday.

An out-of-control wildfire in the northern Alberta oil sands region is threatening production, with very hot weather forecast to continue over the next week.

Suncor Energy SU.TO has temporarily curtailed some production at its 215,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Firebag oil sands site in northern Alberta as a precaution due to a nearby wildfire.

Global oil prices settled lower as the rising possibility of a ceasefire deal in Gaza outweighed strong summer fuel demand and potential supply disruptions from Gulf of Mexico hurricanes. O/R
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)