Cheap Oil? Really, Really Cheap Oil And Canada Has It -- November 11, 2018

What does it mean for Canada with the demise of the Keystone XL (again)? Well, for one thing, it means really, really cheap oil: Western Canadian Select -- now known as Western Canadian Landlocked -- is trading for less than $16/bbl.

From Investor Village:

Canada, the world's fourth-largest producer of crude oil, missed out on a recent global recovery in energy prices, and is now taking it on the chin as prices fall.

Crude prices in Canada briefly dropped below $16 a barrel on Friday, after a U.S. federal judge blocked construction of a key pipeline needed to transport oil from Alberta to Nebraska.

That means Canadian crude is going for a fraction of supplies elsewhere, even as U.S. prices have tumbled 21% from last month's highs to about $60 a barrel . In October, Canadian crude traded at its largest-ever discount to U.S. oil of more than $51.

Because of the steep discount, Canadian producers are leaving 40 million Canadian dollars, or $30.65 million, a day on the table. Energy accounts for nearly 11% of the country's nominal GDP, according to government figures.

The Canadian market was dealt a fresh blow Thursday, when a federal judge ruled that TransCanada Corp. couldn't advance its Keystone XL pipeline without a supplemental environmental review. Completed, the pipeline would carry up to 830,000 barrels a day to Nebraska, where it could then be carried to the Gulf Coast.