Houston (Platts)--5Feb2013/1242 pm EST/1742 GMT

The Western Canadian Select at Hardisty cash differential Tuesday was up $12.75/b since January 11, its weakest point in the past two months, due to less apportionment and talk of a delay in first oil from Imperial Oil's 110,000 b/d Kearl project, according to Canadian crude market sources.

WCS traded at the calendar month average of front-month WTI (WTI CMA) minus $28.50/b in early trading on Tuesday, up from Monday's assessment of WTI CMA minus $30.50/b. The benchmark for Canadian heavy, sour crude is up from January 11's assessment of WTI CMA minus $41.25/b.

WTI CMA minus $29/b marks the first time in two months the crude has traded over the WTI CMA minus $30/b mark, and is the strongest it has been since December 5 when it was assessed at WTI CMA minus $29.20/b.

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Canadian crude market sources attribute the recent strength to less apportionment on Enbridge's 2.5 million b/d mainline crude system, which ships crude from the Canadian oil sands in Alberta to US Midwest and to Cushing, Oklahoma.

February apportionment was 4% for Line 5, down from 12% in January; Line 6B was 21%, up from 20% the previous month; and Lines 6 and 67 by an aggregated 7%. January also saw Lines 6A and 62 apportioned by an aggregated 10%, and Line 14 by 5%. January also saw rare mid-month apportionment on Line 6A by an additional 16% and Lines 6 and 67 by an additional 10%.

Talk of Imperial Oil delaying the date of expected first oil from its Kearl project is also contributing to the strength, sources said. But, Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser, in a Monday email, reiterated the schedule the company has provided for Kearl: First oil in the first quarter of 2013, with production expected to "ramp up to 110,000 barrels per day over the next several months."

--David Arno, david_arno@platts.com
--Edited by Richard Rubin, richard_rubin@platts.com

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