据世界石油6月6日报道，一位驻多伦多的分析师表示，加拿大重质原油价格相对于期货价格大幅下跌，原因是炼油成本高企，而非过去困扰该行业的管道运输能力瓶颈。

彭博社（Bloomberg）汇编的数据显示，上周五，加拿大西部石油对西得克萨斯中质油（WTI）的折价幅度扩大至每桶20美元以上，为去年11月以来最大。近年来，出口管道的短缺导致加拿大重油的折扣扩大至每桶50美元。普莱斯街（Price Street）董事总经理、市场经济学家约翰逊在一份报告中写道，现在，原因与更广泛的全球市场有关，而该行业对全球市场几乎失控。

目前西得克萨斯中质原油价格的一半折扣是由于原油的质量造成的。约翰逊称，艾伯塔省北部油砂生产的石油含硫量高、重量重，意味着其价格总是低于轻质原油，因其提炼成本较高，但所谓的“质量折扣”最近已从每桶4美元扩大至10美元。相比之下，运输成本一直稳定在每桶7美元左右。

天然气价格上涨导致重质原油的提炼成本上升，而美国墨西哥湾地区的提炼能力不足又加剧了这一问题。与此同时，欧佩克+正在生产更多的原油，向市场释放更多的含硫油，加拿大的产量在去年年底开启新出口管道后一直很强劲。

黎泱 编译自 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.