Volume constraints on the Keystone pipeline system levied by U.S. regulators have widened the spread between Western Canadian Select crude prices and benchmark American crude prices , but the steep discount is set to moderate, according to emerging reports . Growing volumes from Alberta’s oil sands have had trouble getting to U.S. markets since federal regulators ordered TransCanada to curtail the line’s capacity by 20 percent after a spill in South Dakota in November. So while WTI climbed, oil prices from Alberta’s oil sands fell. Crude oil by rail shipments are expected to pick up in Canada, which although costlier, allow the shipper greater flexibility in determining shipment locations that will fetch the best price for the oil. Western Canada Select (WCS) —the benchmark that tracks heavy oil in Canada—has traded an average of 11 percent down in 2018, compared to Q4 2017. Canada’s oil by rail exports, according […]