* March synthetic trades at $2.35/bbl above WTI
* March WCS trades at $13.75/bbl below WTI
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The premium on Canadian
synthetic crude hit its highest in eight months on Tuesday as
supply shortages in the oil sands loomed, while the outright
price of benchmark heavy crude tumbled back below $15 a barrel.
Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for March delivery
strengthened to $2.35 per barrel above the West Texas
Intermediate benchmark, according to Shorcan Energy brokers, up
from a premium of $1.80 a barrel on Monday.
Traders in Calgary said the gains were due to upcoming
maintenance at oil sands plants in northern Alberta, including a
major turnaround on one of Suncor Energy's SU.TO two
upgraders, which process mined bitumen into refinery-ready
synthetic crude.
Suncor's upgraders have a combined capacity of about 350,000
barrels per day.
Nexen Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of China's CNOOC
0883.HK , has also shut down synthetic crude production at its
50,000 bpd Long Lake facility following an explosion in
mid-January that killed two employees.
Alberta regulators are investing the cause of the blast and
there is no timeline for when Long Lake production will resume.
L2N150046
Canada's oil sands plants have a busy maintenance schedule
planned for spring, meaning prices are likely to gain some
support over the next couple of months. L2N14Y2GN
Last week, MEG Energy MEG.TO said it is bringing forward a
planned turnaround at its 80,000 bpd Christina Lake oil sands
project because of the low oil price environment, tightening
supply of heavy barrels. L3N15J3RT
Western Canada Select heavy blend crude for March delivery
last traded at $13.75 per barrel below WTI, little moved from
Monday's settlement of $13.70 per barrel below the benchmark.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 dived 6 percent on concerns about
weak global demand however, to settle at $27.94 a barrel.
That put the outright price of Canadian crude at around
$14.19 a barrel, close to January's record low of $13.25.