Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude's discount to global benchmark Brent narrowed through the session to last trade at minus $5.45. A wider WTI discount to Brent makes it more economic for companies to ship oil abroad and limits buying by foreign companies.
In refining news, U.S. oil refiners are expected to have about 163,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity offline for the week ending August 7, increasing available refining capacity by 50,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said on Wednesday.
Light Louisiana Sweet for September delivery was unchanged at a midpoint of a $1.50 premium and was seen bid and offered between a $1.25 and $1.75 a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
Mars Sour was unchanged at a midpoint of a $2.2 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $2.40 and $2.00 a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI Midland eased 30 cents to a midpoint of a 30-cent premium and was seen bid and offered between a 10-cent and 50-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
West Texas Sour gained 15 cents to a midpoint of a $1 discount and was seen bid and offered between a $1.40 and 60-cent a barrel discount to U.S. crude futures CLc1
WTI at East Houston, also known as MEH, traded between a 40-cent and 80-cent a barrel premium to U.S. crude futures CLc1
ICE Brent October futures LCOc1 rose 9 cents to settle at $79.45 a barrel on Wednesday
WTI September crude CLc1 futures fell 55 cents to settle at $75.22 a barrel on Wednesday
The Brent/WTI spread widened 50 cents to last trade at minus $5.46, after hitting a high of minus $4.89 and a low of minus $5.69.
U.S. crude inventories rise; Cushing stocks rebound
On the U.S. supply side, crude stocks rose as refineries eased processing slightly and imports edged higher, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 2.5 million barrels to 407 million barrels in the week ended July 31, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel draw.
Total crude stocks, including commercial and barrels held in the U.S. government's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, eased to 711.8 million barrels, the lowest since March 1984.
Oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 2.4 million barrels to 20.96 million barrels in the week, the EIA said, back above the minimum operational requirement of about 20 million barrels.
Coastal crude grades little changed as Iran talks watched
HOUSTON, Aug. 5 (Reuters) - U.S. coastal crude grades were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited news on a de-escalation in U.S.-Iran hostilities that could improve oil supply.
U.S. President Donald Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterizing the talks positively while also threatening to hit Tehran "really hard" if a deal were not reached. Iran denied that peace talks were under way.
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of war between Iran and the U.S. would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
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