CANADA-CRUDE-Discount on Western Canada Select narrows

Dec 11 (Reuters) - The discount on Western Canada Select to North American benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures CLc1 narrowed on Thursday.

WCS for January delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $13.20 a barrel below the U.S. benchmark WTI, according to brokerage CalRock, compared with $13.75 on Wednesday.

• After spending much of the year in the $9-$11 range, in large part due to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion which has given Canadian oil producers additional export capacity, the WCS discount has recently widened.

• The widening can be attributed in part to rising Canadian production growth that has increased pressure along the country's export pipelines.

• Seasonality is also a factor, with higher levels of diluent required during this time of year to maintain necessary pipeline viscosity out of the oil sands, said Wood Mackenzie analyst Lee Williams.

• Increased competition from similar grades in global markets may also be having an influence following recent increases in OPEC+ volumes, Williams said.

• Global oil prices fell on Thursday as investors focused on Russia-Ukraine peace talks and eyed large surpluses in U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories.