加拿大重质原油价格相对于美国石油期货的疲软程度已降至2018年以来最低水平，当时大规模管道瓶颈促使阿尔伯塔省政府对最大生产商实施限产。
Canadian heavy crude prices reached their weakest relative to US oil futures since 2018, when a massive pipline bottleneck prompted Alberta’s government to impose production limits on the largest producers.
据Modern Commodities和General Index价格显示，周二早些时候，西加拿大精选原油在阿尔伯塔省对西德克萨斯中质原油月度平均期货价格的折价扩大至每桶31.70美元，为2018年11月以来最宽。第二基准原油加拿大冷湖原油在美国墨西哥湾沿岸的折价同样处于八年来未见的宽幅水平，达每桶23.10美元。
Western Canadian Select’s discount in Alberta to a monthly average of West Texas Intermediate futures grew to $31.70 a barrel early Tuesday, the widest since November of 2018, according to Modern Commodities and General Index prices. The secondary benchmark Canadian Cold Lake crude’s discount on the US Gulf Coast was at similarly wide levels not seen in eight years, standing at $23.10.
折价扩大的原因包括全球油轮运费飙升以及委内瑞拉重质原油在美国墨西哥湾沿岸的进口增加。埃克森美孚控股公司旗下油砂生产商帝国石油有限公司在上周的业绩电话会上表示，加拿大原油的低价预计将持续到第四季度。
The widening discount has been caused by factors such as soaring worldwide rates for oil tankers and imports of competing Venezuelan heavy crude in the US Gulf. The lower price for Canadian oil is expected to continue through the fourth quarter, oil sands producer Imperial Oil Ltd., a unit of ExxonMobil Holdings Corp., said in an earnings call last week.
一些大型油砂生产商如Suncor Energy Inc.拥有炼厂，可从较低的原油价格中获益。但不断扩大的折价已成为许多公司的逆风因素，限制了重油生产商充分受益于全球原油价格飙升至每桶100美元以上的行情。
Some large oil sands producers such as Suncor Energy Inc. have refineries that can benefit from lower crude prices. But the growing discount has come as a headwind for many companies, limiting the ability of heavy oil producers to fully benefit from a run-up in worldwide crude prices that now sit above $100 a barrel.
2018年底，随着产量增长超越管道运力扩张，加拿大重质原油折价曾扩大至接近每桶50美元。
In late 2018, Canadian heavy crude’s discount grew to almost $50 a barrel as production outpaced the growth of pipeline space.
局势变得如此严峻，以致阿尔伯塔省政府对最大原油生产商实施限产。随后两年，这些限制逐步放宽并最终取消。与当时不同，如今折价扩大源于国际因素，而非本地管道短缺。
The situation became so critical that Alberta’s government imposed production limits on the largest crude producers. Those restrictions were relaxed and eventually eliminated over the following two years. Unlike then, today’s widening discount is the result of international factors rather than a local pipeline shortage.
伊朗战争引发的动荡导致油轮运费飙升，制约了面向海外市场的出货，尤其是美国墨西哥湾沿岸——大量加拿大原油最终流向该地区。
Disruptions from the Iran war caused rates for oil tankers to surge, constraining shipments for overseas markets, especially off the US Gulf Coast where much Canadian oil ends up.
此外，更多竞争性的委内瑞拉石油正运往美国炼厂，而运往亚洲的则减少。
In addition, greater supplies of competing Venezuelan oil are being shipped to US refineries and less to Asia.
墨西哥湾价差扩大激励了经由横贯山脉管道的装船出口，这是唯一一条从阿尔伯塔省北部通往温哥华的管道。经横贯山脉管道的油轮出口量上月升至纪录高位。
The widening discount in the Gulf of Mexico has incentivized shipping off the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the only pipeline that runs from northern Alberta to Vancouver. Tanker exports off Trans Mountain rose to a record last month.
虽然服务横贯山脉管道的较小型阿芙拉型油轮运费有所上涨，但涨幅不及服务美国墨西哥湾的超大型油轮，且前往东亚市场的距离短得多，使得航运成本相对较低。
While rates for the smaller Aframax tankers that service Trans Mountain have increased, they have not risen as much as the supertankers that service the US Gulf and the much shorter distance to East Asian markets makes shipping relatively less expensive.