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For months, much of the focus on Alberta’s oil-price woes has centred on Western Canadian Select. That’s understandable because heavy oil accounts for about half of Canada’s crude production, and WCS is the heavy-oil benchmark. Earlier this month, it plunged to a record low of less than US$14 a barrel, and currently sits around US$19. But what about the other half of production? The situation is likewise grim. Two lighter oil benchmarks, used in pricing about 40 per cent of Canada’s crude production, have dropped precipitously over the past three months to less than US$30 a barrel. Those benchmarks – Edmonton Mixed Sweet and Synthetic Crude – now sell at steep discounts to U.S. crude, a sign that no corner of Alberta’s oil industry is untouched by pricing challenges. Discounts for WCS are standard, owing in part to costs associated with moving and refining Canada’s heavy crude. Over the past decade, WCS has sold for an average of US$17 cheaper than West Texas intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, on a per-barrel basis. This fall, the differential ballooned to a record of around US$50. Differentials are slimmer for Edmonton Mixed Sweet and Synthetic Crude, and the latter has often sold for […]
