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

WCS for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $18.70 a barrel under WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, having closed at $19.00 per barrel below the U.S. benchmark on Thursday.

Canadian heavy crude prices came under pressure on news that BP’s BP.L 435,000 barrel-per-day Whiting, Indiana, refinery was forced to shut down on Thursday due to a power outage.

On Friday, BP said power was restored to the refinery on Thursday night, but sources said the company had not yet set a date for restarting operations. Whiting is the largest U.S. Midwest refinery and a major buyer of Canadian heavy crude.

Global oil prices fell by about 2% and posted weekly losses after U.S. jobs data shrank the odds of imminent interest rate cuts in the world’s largest economy, which could dampen crude demand.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)