Canadian heavy crude grades rang in the new year with a rapid selloff, as differentials plummeted amid heightened market volatility and geopolitical developments. Western Canadian Select (WCS), Canada’s primary heavy crude benchmark, is a blended oil sands grade with low API gravity and elevated sulfur content, making it closely comparable to Venezuelan Merey and Mexican Maya. Structural constraints tied to its landlocked production base and reliance on long-haul transportation anchor WCS to trade at a discount to light sweet benchmarks. Throughout 2025, WCS at Cushing traded between ($7)/bbl and ($2)/bbl below the NYMEX-CME Calendar Month Average (CMA), averaging a roughly ($4)/bbl discount for the year.
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When Love Comes to Town – Venezuelan Rebound Would Test Gulf Coast Refiners’ Affection for Canadian Crude
The evolving situation in Venezuela is rife with uncertainty. But as the outlook for Venezuelan crude oil improves, there are significant market issues at play as well, including the potential for renewed competition with Canadian heavy crudes along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
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Venezuela Heavy Crude Crushes Canadian Price
Heavy crude markets have reacted sharply to regime change in Venezuela, with Canadian prices bearing the brunt of the initial move.
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Crude Oil Price Analytics & Differentials
A report offered through the joint efforts of RBN and Link Data Services (LDS – a leading Gulf Coast physical crude brokerage firm) to help you better understand what’s going on each week with crude oil differentials.
