Western Canadian Select


Western Canadian Select is a heavy sour blend of crude oil that is one of North America's largest heavy crude oil streams and, historically, its cheapest. It was established in December 2004 as a new heavy oil stream by EnCana, Canadian Natural Resources, Petro-Canada and Talisman Energy. It is composed mostly of bitumen blended with sweet synthetic and condensate diluents and 21 existing streams of both conventional and unconventional Alberta heavy crude oils at the large Husky Midstream General Partnership terminal in Hardisty, Alberta. Western Canadian Select—the benchmark for heavy, acidic crudes—is one of many petroleum products from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin oil sands. Calgary-based Husky Energy, now a subsidiary of Cenovus, had joined the initial four founders in 2015.
Western Canadian Select is the benchmark price for western Canadian crude blends. The price of other Canadian crude blends produced locally are also based on the price of the benchmark.
During the COVID-19 pandemic many oil benchmarks around the world fell to record lows, with WCS dropping to $3.81 U.S. dollars per barrel on April 21, 2020. In June, Cenovus increased production at its Christina Lake oil sands project reaching record volumes of 405,658 bbls/d when the price of WCS increased "almost tenfold from April" to an average of $33.97 or C$46.03 per barrel. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the price of WCS rose to over US$100 a barrel with the United States considering placing a ban on Russian oil imports. In June, the Western Canadian Select benchmark price averaged $64.35 per barrel, which was closely aligned with the year-to-date average of $63.09. During the 2025 United States trade war with Canada, the price dropped to C$52.57 per barrel as of April 7.
In 2023, Canada's total oil exports reached a "historical high" of 4.8 million bpd, with the United States purchasing 192.9 million metric tons that year. In 2023, oil sands extraction contributed over billion and conventional crude oil and gas extraction contributed billion to Canada's economy.
In November 2024, the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors forecasted that a total of 6,604 wells would be drilled in Western Canada in 2025, marking a 7.3% increase from 2023. This level of activity would be the highest in the Western Canadian oil sector since the commodity price downturn of 2014-2015, which resulted in a prolonged period of industry contraction.

Overview

Western Canadian Select is Canada's benchmark heavy crude and has historically been the cheapest crude oil heavy sour blend in North America. As of 2024, there are only three corporationsSuncor, CNRL, and Cenovus, all Canadian and all headquartered in Calgarythat produce an estimated 77% of all Canadian oilsands production. Repsol, which was the fourth main WCS producer, was one of many foreign companies and investors who exited the oilsands in 2024.
Canada is the primary supplier of total petroleum to the United States. In 2024, Canada's oil exports to the United States were increased substantially partly because of the increased capacity with the completion of the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline. In July and September 2024, Canada exported over 4.3 million barrels of oil per day to the United States. In comparison, Canada exported 3.2 million b/d of crude oil to the United States in May 2020.
WCS's influence over the crude oil market extends beyond the production of these three corporate giants, as the price of other Canadian crude blends produced locally are also based on the price of the benchmark, WCS, according to NE2, a brokerage and exchange company that handles approximately 38 percent of western Canadian oil production.
The calculation of the price of WCS is complex. Because WCS is a lower quality heavy crude oil and is also farther from the major oil markets in the United States, its price is calculated based on a discount to West Texas Intermediate —a sweeter, lighter oil, which is produced in the heart of the oil markets regions. WTI is the benchmark price of oil in North America. The price of WTI changes from day to day but actual commodities trading market for crude oil is based on contract prices, not a daily price. The WCS discount on a futures contract for a two-month period is based on the average price of all WTI contracts in the most recent month prior to the WCS contract agreement.

Revenue

Husky Energy sold 65% of their Midstream business in 2016 and formed the Husky Midstream General Partnership with two additional partners. HMGP exclusively blends the crude super-stream to ensure a consistent high quality heavy crude product that is demanded by refineries. Since Husky joined the conglomerate, onstream WCS has been blended at the Husky Hardisty terminal. In October 2020, Cenovus acquired the Calgary-based company established in the 1930s—Husky—for CA$3.8 billion.

Major producers

In 2004, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, and Talisman Energy developed the Western Canadian Select blend. According to Argus, in 2012 the WCS blend was still produced by only four companies because of the complex set of rules regarding compensate for contributions to the WCS blend. Cenovus and Husky completed a merger by January 2021, with the company operating under Cenovus. Through the merger Cenovus became the third-largest crude oil and natural gas company and the second-largest upgrader in Canada.

Major importers

The United States imports about 99% of Canada's oil exports, According to monthly data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Canada is the "largest exporter of total petroleum" to the United States with crude oil exports to the US of 3,026,000 bpd in September 2014, 3,789,000 bpd in September 2015 and 3,401,000 bpd in October 2015.
Canadian oil is much cheaper than oil from other sources. Since 2009, US refineries have increased use of Canadian crude oil, according to a March 20, 2020 report Since 2009, the US has decreased oil imports from Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Of the total crude oil imports to the US, crude oil from Canada accounts for 56%, according to a 2019 EIA report.
Canada's total oil exports reached a "historical high" of 4.8 million bpd in 2023, with the United States purchasing 192.9 million metric tons that year.

Historical pricing

Crude prices are typically quoted at a particular location. Unless stated otherwise, the price of WCS is quoted at Hardisty and the price of West Texas Intermediate is quoted at Cushing, Oklahoma.
Statista provides accurate current and historical records of the price of WCS.
By March 18, 2015, the price of benchmark crude oils, WTI had dropped to $US 43.34/barrel. from a high in June 2014 with WTI priced above US$107/bbl and Brent above US$115/bbl. WCS, a bitumen-derived crude, is a heavy crude that is similar to Californian heavy crudes, Mexico's Maya crude or Venezuelan heavy crude oils. On March 15, 2015, the differential between WTI and WCS was US$13.8. Western Canadian Select was among the cheapest crude oils in the world with a price of US$29.54/bbl on March 15, 2015, its lowest price since April 2009. By mid-April 2015 WCS had risen almost fifty percent to trade at $US44.94.
By June 2, 2015, the differential between WTI and WCS was US$7.8, the lowest it had ever been. By August 12, 2015, the WCS price dropped to $23.31 and the WTI/WCS differential had risen to $19.75, the lowest price in nine years when BP temporarily shut down its Whiting, Indiana refinery for two weeks, the sixth largest refinery in the United States, to repair the largest crude distillation unit at its Whiting, Indiana refinery. At the same time Enbridge was forced to shut down Line 55 Spearhead pipeline and Line 59 Flanagan South pipeline in Missouri because of a crude oil leak. By September 9, 2015, the price of WCS was US$32.52.
By December 14, 2015, with the price of WTI at $35 a barrel, WCS fell "75 percent to $21.82," the lowest in seven years and Mexico's Maya heavy crude was down "73 percent in 18 months to $27.74". By December 2015 the price of WCS was US$23.46, the lowest price since December 2008 and The WTI-WCS differential was US$13.65. In mid-December 2015, when the price of both Brent and WTI was about $35 a barrel and WCS was $21.82. Mexico's comparable heavy sour crude, Maya dropped in price 73% but the Mexican government used an oil hedge to "somewhat protect" it.
By February 2016 WTI had dropped to US$29.85 and WCS was US$14.10 with a differential of $15.75. By June 2016 WTI was priced at US$46.09, Brent at MYMEX was US$47.39 and WCS was US$33.94 with a differential of US$12.15. By June 2016 the price of WCS was US$33.94. By December 10, 2016, WTI had risen to US$51.46 and WCS was US$36.11 with a differential of $15.35.
On June 28, 2018, WTI spiked to US$74, a four-year high, then dropped by 30% by the end of November.
In November 2018, the price of WCS hit its record low of less than US$14 a barrel. From 2008 through 2018, WCS sold at an average discount of US$17 against WTI. In the fall of 2018, the differential increased to a record of around US$50. On December 2, Premier Rachel Notley announced a mandatory cut of 8.7% in Alberta's oil production. This represents cutting back 325,000 bpd in January 2019, and dropping to 95,000 bpd by the end of 2019. According to a December 12, 2018 article in the Financial Post, after the mandatory cuts were announced, the price of WCS rose c. 70% to c. US$41 a barrel with the WTI narrowing to c. US$11. The price difference between WCS and WTI was as wide as US$50 a barrel in October. As the international price of oil recovered from the December "sharp downturn", the price of WCS rose to US$28.60. According to CBC News, the lower global price of oil was related to declining economic growth as the China–U.S. trade war continued. The price rose as oil production was cut back by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Saudi Arabia. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration report, oil production rose by 12% in the U.S., primarily because of shale oil. As a result, Goldman Sachs lowered its 2019 oil price forecast for 2019.
In March 2019, the differential of WTI over WCS decreased to $US9.94 as the price of WTI dropped to US$58.15 a barrel, which is 7.5% lower than it was in March 2018, while the price of WCS averaged increased to US$48.21 a barrel which is 35.7% higher than in March 2018. By October 2019, WTI was averaging US$53.96 a barrel which is 23.7% lower than in October 2018. In comparison, for the same period, WCS averaged US$41.96 a barrel which is 2.0% higher than in October 2018 with a differential of US$12.00 in October 2019.
By March 30, 2020, the price of WCS bitumen-blend crude was US$3.82 per barrel. In April 2020 the price briefly fell below zero, along with WTI, due to collapsing demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June, the Western Canadian Select benchmark price averaged $64.35 per barrel, which was closely aligned with the year-to-date average of $63.09.
After President Donald Trump announced tariffs came into effect on April 3, as part of the 2025 United States trade war with Canada, the price of WCS dropped to C$52.57 per barrel, from an average of