July 5, 2012. Cenovus Energy Inc. says it's selling Canadian oil sands crude near world prices by exporting through Vancouver's port as Canada's fourth-largest oil producer by market value lines up buyers ahead of a surge in production. The company is selling "small" volumes of Western Canada Select (WCS) blend to buyers in markets such as Asia and California to help them understand how to refine it. Prices for the Canadian crude sold through Vancouver are closer to those paid for oil from Dubai and for Brent, the benchmark used in Europe, and at a premium to West Texas Intermediate. WCS has been selling at a steep discount to WTI in the U.S. market. Cenovus plans to expand production at its oil sands operations in northern Alberta to 400,000 barrels a day by 2021 from 82,000 in the first quarter. The company is counting on proposed new pipelines, including Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway to Canada's Pacific coast and TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL route to the U.S. Gulf Coast, to help it attract new buyers and higher prices.