據世界石油6月6日報道，一位駐多倫多的分析師表示，加拿大重質原油價格相對于期貨價格大幅下跌，原因是煉油成本高企，而非過去困擾該行業的管道運輸能力瓶頸。

彭博社（Bloomberg）匯編的數據顯示，上周五，加拿大西部石油對西得克薩斯中質油（WTI）的折價幅度擴大至每桶20美元以上，為去年11月以來最大。近年來，出口管道的短缺導致加拿大重油的折扣擴大至每桶50美元。普萊斯街（Price Street）董事總經理、市場經濟學家約翰遜在一份報告中寫道，現在，原因與更廣泛的全球市場有關，而該行業對全球市場幾乎失控。

目前西得克薩斯中質原油價格的一半折扣是由于原油的質量造成的。約翰遜稱，艾伯塔省北部油砂生產的石油含硫量高、重量重，意味著其價格總是低于輕質原油，因其提煉成本較高，但所謂的“質量折扣”最近已從每桶4美元擴大至10美元。相比之下，運輸成本一直穩定在每桶7美元左右。

天然氣價格上漲導致重質原油的提煉成本上升，而美國墨西哥灣地區的提煉能力不足又加劇了這一問題。與此同時，歐佩克+正在生產更多的原油，向市場釋放更多的含硫油，加拿大的產量在去年年底開啟新出口管道后一直很強勁。

黎泱 編譯自 世界石油

原文如下：

Canada’s oil sands prices trail futures as refining costs rise

Canadian heavy crude prices have collapsed relative to futures prices because of high refining costs rather than the pipeline bottle necks that have plagued the industry in the past, according to a Toronto-based analyst.

Western Canadian Select discount to the benchmark West Texas Intermediate grew to more than $20 barrel on Friday, the widest since November, data compiled by Bloomberg show. In recent years, a shortfall of export pipelines was resulted in a widening discount to as much as $50 a barrel for Canadian heavy oil. Now, the cause is related to the broader world market, which the industry has little control over, Rory Johnson, managing director and market economist at Price Street wrote in a note.

Half the current discount to West Texas Intermediate is due to the quality of the crude oil. The high-sulfur, heavy nature of oil produced in the oil sands of Northern Alberta means it always trades at a discount to lighter oil grades because its more expensive to refine, but that so-called “quality discount” has widened to $10 a barrel from $4 recently, Johnson said. By contrast, transport costs have remained steady at about $7 a barrel.  

Higher natural gas costs have made refining heavy crude more expensive, a problem compounded by a shortfall of refining capacity in the U.S. Gulf Coast. At the same time, OPEC+ is producing more crude, releasing additional sour oil onto the market, and Canadian production has been strong after the start of a new export pipeline late last year.