June 12 (Reuters) - The discount on Western Canada

Select (WCS) heavy crude versus the North American benchmark

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) widened on Wednesday:

* WCS for July delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at

$13.50 a barrel below WTI, according to brokerage CalRock,

having settled at $13.25 a barrel under the benchmark on

Tuesday.

* The widening comes as an executive for Trans Mountain Corp

said the newly-expanded 890,000 barrel per day pipeline is about

80% full and 22 tankers are scheduled to load in Vancouver this

month.

* However, some traders were sceptical that much crude would

load, while U.S. refiners have flagged concerns about the

quality of crude being shipped on Trans Mountain.

* Global oil prices settled higher as ongoing tensions in

the Middle East lent support to prices, but news that interest

rate cuts could start as late as December capped gains,

following the Federal Reserve's statement concluding its two-day

meeting.