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Data from Auspice Capital shows the spread between WTI and the Canadian Crude Index, which the company uses to measure domestic crude oil prices, hit its widest point since Aug. 2015 this week.

“There are projections for rising Canadian oil output in 2017 based on legacy projects and legacy investments,” Pickering said, “and given that there is not a clear path for incremental pipeline capacity in the near term, there’s going to possibly be a situation where we’re full.”

Similarly, Scotiabank commodity economist Rory Johnston said there is still some room on existing Canadian pipelines but by 2018, “you likely will get some tightening in that takeaway capacity, which will add a little upward pressure to the differential — so a larger discount.”

Canadian oil producers accept a discount for their crude oil because it’s far from large refining markets and as most Canadian oil is heavier than the more desirable lighter crude from U.S. shale basins.

Pickering said that new pipelines – like TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL and Kinder Morgan Canada’s Trans Mountain expansion – are still years away from being built to alleviate potential bottlenecks.

“We’re just going to continue to get screwed if this is the case,” he said. “We’ve been in the US$10 to US$15 (discount) zone the last couple of years but there’s a real risk of it going out to US$20 if we don’t get more takeaway capacity built and online.”