OREANDA-NEWS. US west coast refined products are partly filling the void in western Canada after weeks of oil sands shutdowns in Alberta disrupted production.

Several shipping fixtures of gasoline and diesel from the US west coast to Vancouver have filled demand, as there has been scant supply available for refiners in Alberta. Western Canadian crude throughputs stood at 330,467 b/d on the week ending 24 May, trailing year-ago volumes by more than 40pc, according to Canada's National Energy Board.

Some US west coast refiners have altered their barge schedule to bring gasoline originally destined for the Pacific Northwest to western Canada.

This has lent support to both the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles gasoline markets, which have both made gains in the last week.

Lingering operational issues at ExxonMobil's 155,000 b/d Torrance, Chevron's 275,000 b/d El Segundo and Tesoro's 363,500 b/d Carson refineries have also supported Los Angeles prices.

Many west coast traders were expecting California's gasoline demand to fall after ExxonMobil announced last month that it was restarting its refinery, as few refineries were undergoing any maintenance at that time.

Los Angeles prompt CARBOB cash differentials have gained 15?/USG since 24 May, while Portland gasoline differentials have gained 15.5?/USG in the same period.