The current discount that WTI crude has to Brent is likely to be
permanent, although it will narrow as pipelines carry more oil away from the
Cushing pricing hub in Oklahoma, says Total SA's (TOT) Chief Economist Pierre
Sigonney.
In previous decades, WTI traded at a premium to Brent, but the
reversal of oil flows from the US Gulf Coast to
Oklahoma
,
following an increase in oil production in
Canada
and
North
Dakota
, means the premium will also be reversed, he says,
at the Platts Crude Oil Markets conference in
London
.