But what is paid for this sludge Canada wants to send us via the new Keystone pipeline? WTI is about $103/bbl.
It must be low to justify the chemicals needed to just prime the pipes.
I recall someone on the radio here in Canada mentioning that due to complications getting it to market, the price was about $30 less than standard price of a barrel of oil on world markets. This is why Prime Minister Harper is hot to trot to get the pipeline to Texas approved (plus the one to Prince Rupert for the Asian market). Both appear to have hit snags in the last few days.
Try searching for Western Canadian Select.
Keep in mind that the benchmark crudes are a convenient bit of fiction meant to make oil easier to trade on the commodities market. In addition to the chemical differences, the price quoted is for oil delivered to a specific terminal. It varies for different benchmark crudes, but for both WTI and Western Canadian Select, it’s Cushing, Oklahoma. If the oil is getting delivered to somewhere other than Cushing (as most oil is) or varies from the chemical composition of the benchmark crude (as most oil does) the oil is going to sell for something other than the benchmark price.
In the case of WCS, the difficulty of getting it to the international market is currently reflected in the (relatively high) price. A refinery in, say, Edmonton is likely paying a lot less for it than the benchmark price. If the pipeline were to be built, that would reduce the costs of getting WCS to market and the price should fall relative to the other benchmarks.