June 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Gulf Coast crude premiums widened as refineries in the region boosted oil processing to the highest level in almost five years.
The plants handled 7.99 million barrels a day in the week ended June 1, the most since July 2007, according to the Energy Department.
Light Louisiana Sweet’s premium to benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude gained 10 cents to $13.65 a barrel at 2:09 p.m. in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Heavy Louisiana Sweet’s premium increased 50 cents to $16.30 a barrel.
Mars Blend’s premium gained 20 cents to $12. Southern Green Canyon’s narrowed 25 cents to $12.30 and Poseidon’s lost 10 cents to $12.30.
The premium for Thunder Horse, a sour crude with lower sulfur content than Mars, Poseidon and Southern Green Canyon, widened 45 cents to $14 a barrel.
Western Canada Select’s discount to WTI narrowed 35 cents to $24.65 a barrel. Syncrude strengthened 25 cents a barrel to a discount of $6.50. Bakken oil’s discount narrowed 65 cents to $11.
--Editors: Charlotte Porter, David Marino
To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Clark in New York at aclark27@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
© Copyright 2013 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.