The Bridger Pipeline Expansion would bring Canadian oil into the United States, carrying up to 550,000 barrels per day through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline. The pipeline needs additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which is expected to begin next year, with an expected online date by the end of 2028 or very early 2029. The proposed pipeline is close to securing the minimum commitments from oil companies that it needs to continue with the project. At peak volume, the 650-mile pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the Keystone XL pipeline, which was partially built before President Biden withdrew the Presidential permit approved by President Trump when Biden took office in 2021. President Trump signed approval for the Bridger pipeline to cross the border between Saskatchewan and northeastern Montana.
More than 70% of the Bridger pipeline would be built within existing pipeline corridors and 80% on private land, so it is not expected to cross any Native American reservations. The proposal seeks to build the pipeline alongside existing pipeline infrastructure, which could make it easier to obtain required permits. The 36-inch line would carry various grades of oil for export or refining in the United States. U.S. refineries use Canadian heavy oil, and many were retooled from processing light oil to heavy oil before the shale oil renaissance that produced volumes of U.S. light oil. Canada is our largest supplier of imported oil. The Bridger pipeline is also authorized to carry other petroleum products, including gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas.
The Casper, Wyoming-based company, True Companies, operates more than 3,700 miles of gathering and transmission pipelines in the Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. True Companies is overseeing the Bridger Pipeline Expansion project’s permitting, construction planning, and safety tech, including its AI-driven leak-detection system, FlowState. Bridger Pipeline developed an AI-based leak detection system that enables it to be notified more quickly of any problems. It also plans to drill 30 to 40 feet below major rivers, including the Yellowstone and the Missouri, to reduce the risk of an accident.
The route of the proposed Bridger pipeline would originate near Keystone XL’s planned border crossing. In Canada, sections of the Keystone XL pipeline were completed before the project was canceled and the pipe was left in the ground, leaving open the prospect that those segments could be used and connected to Bridger. Bridger could revive about 93 miles of track on the Canadian side that were built and are sitting idle, which would reduce construction costs and impacts.
Bridger would increase Canada’s oil exports to the United States by more than 12%, bringing much-needed pipeline takeaway capacity to Canada. Oil companies have committed to move at least 400,000 barrels per day, or about 72% of the pipeline’s initial capacity. The company is seeking long-term contracts for 450,000 barrels per day in committed capacity to green-light the project, which is 80% of the initial capacity that pipeline operators typically require before moving ahead with construction. Reuters reports that the project would eventually increase to 1.13 million barrels per day. According to analysts, the current project is not an end market for oil, so additional links would need to be built to refining hubs such as Cushing, Oklahoma; Patoka, Illinois; and the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Canada’s Oil Has Been Landlocked
Canadian oil, produced in Alberta, has been landlocked and is looking for outlets. After President Biden withdrew the Presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, Canada built the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from Alberta to British Columbia to carry oil and petroleum products. The Trans Mountain pipeline carries oil to the Pacific Coast, where it can be loaded onto tankers for export, opening up markets for Canadian oil along the U.S. West Coast and in Asia. The expanded Trans Mountain pipeline was completed and went online on May 1, 2024, with its capacity tripled to 890,000 barrels per day, comparable to that of the Keystone XL pipeline. Before that, the U.S. Midwest was the major market for Canadian oil, importing 90%, around 4 million barrels per day, of Canada’s oil via North-South pipelines from its main oil-producing region of Alberta. The Trans Mountain pipeline is planning a series of enhancements that could increase its capacity by 360,000 barrels per day.
The commitments by Canadian oil producers for the Bridger pipeline expansion, however, show the additional need for takeaway capacity for the country’s oil. Other expansions are underway. Reuters reports that last fall, Enbridge approved expansions for its Mainline and Flanagan South pipelines, which will allow an additional 150,000 barrels per day of Canadian heavy oil to move to the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. That expansion is expected to come online in 2027. The company is also assessing commercial interest in a second phase of its Mainline expansion of 250,000 barrels per day, which could be in service in 2028.
Analysis
President Trump has approved a Presidential permit allowing construction of the Bridger pipeline expansion to cross the border between Saskatchewan, Canada, and northeastern Montana. The 650-mile pipeline would move about two-thirds as much oil as the Keystone XL pipeline, which was partially built before President Biden withdrew its Presidential permit in 2021. U.S. refineries are equipped to process the heavy oil that Canadian imports provide. In addition to oil, the proposed pipeline is authorized to carry petroleum products, including gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas. The pipeline has almost all the commitments from oil companies that it needs and plans to be built on existing pipeline corridors and private land, avoiding issues from potential protesters. It plans to be operational by the end of 2028 or very early 2029, hopefully before President Trump’s term ends.
